By Davit Kirakosyan
KB Home (NYSE:KBH) shares fell nearly 5% after-hours following the company’s reported Q4 results, with EPS of $2.47 coming in worse than the consensus estimate of $2.87. Revenue grew 16% year-over-year to $1.94 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98B.
"While favorable demographics and a prolonged undersupply of homes give us confidence in the housing market's long-term outlook, current conditions remain challenging. High mortgage rates and persistent inflation, together with an uncertain economy, have made homebuyers more cautious since the middle of last year. As such, in the fourth quarter, we prioritized delivering our large backlog and protecting our high margins over taking steps to stimulate additional sales during this seasonally slower time frame," said Jeffrey Mezger, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The company provided its outlook for Q1/23, expecting housing revenues in the range of $1.25-$1.40B and an average selling price in the range of $490,000 -$500,000.
Given significant uncertainty and limited forward visibility regarding the 2023 housing market, and challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, the company provided its guidance for fiscal 2023 only for housing revenues, which are expected to be in the range of $5.00-$6.00B.