Lennar Corporation (LEN)

Lennar Corp., based in Miami, is one of the two largest builders of homes based on 82,583 new home deliveries in FY25, up from 80,210 deliveries in FY24. Rival D.R. Horton delivered 83,423 in FY25. Lennar's $32.27 billion in homebuilding revenue topped D.R. Horton's in FY25, helped by an average sales price of $391,000 that is about $22,000 higher than its rival. Based on total revenue, D.R. Horton was slightly larger. Lennar builds homes in approximately 32 states. The company's biggest operations are in Florida, Texas, and California. The company's South Central region accounts for the most deliveries (28%), but the West accounts for 37% of homebuilding revenue because the average closing price is $602,000. Lennar builds step-up (approximately 68% of closings), entry-level (28%), and retirement (4%) homes. The company also provides mortgage financing. Lennar's Multifamily business develops and manages apartment complexes through joint ventures. 'Lennar Other' includes the company's Strategic Technology Investments, Multifamily Operations, and Single-Family Rentals. Homebuilding represented $32.3 billion (94%) of the company's $34.2 billion in FY25 revenue. It is also the biggest contributor to pretax earnings. The company's fiscal year ends on November 30.

The major indices are higher at midday, with the Nasdaq leading the charge. Earnings branch out this week to a range of sectors, after the big banks dominated last week. Many heavy hitters are on the list, including Meta Platforms, GE, GM, Tesla, and Lockheed Martin. Oil is at $98 per barrel. The yield on the 10-year note is at 5.12%.

Analysts at Vickers Stock Research, Argus' sister company, recently noted that the one-week sector sell/buy ratios from Vickers, which measure insider sentiment, were almost universally bullish. That suggested that insider sentiment - which has been mired in neutral territory for several months - might be about to pivot for the better. This week brings more data that supports the premise, as every one of the 11 one-week sector sell/buy ratios from Vickers is bullish. Vickers has been focusing on these sector ratios for a year now, and this is the first time such a result has been logged. Broadening the view to Vickers' eight-week sector ratios, seven are bullish, four are neutral, and none are bearish. Heading into earnings season as well as the fourth quarter (historically the best-performing quarter for stocks), the above clearly is good news. This represents only two weeks of data and transaction volume is falling as insiders are entering a time when they are broadly prohibited from trading due to pending earnings reports. But we simply can't argue with the bullish tone now coming from executives, directors, and beneficial owners. The impact of these two positive weeks has the major index sell/buy ratios from Vickers moving quickly in the right direction. The eight-week ratio for the NYSE is now 3.84, improved from 4.65 last week; the eight-week ratio for the Nasdaq is now 3.34, improved from 3.59 last week; and the Total ratio (all exchanges) is now 3.51, improved from 3.95 last week. The goal for these ratios is to be below 2.00, as that is where bullish territory begins.

Lennar is the second-largest public homebuilder in the United States, behind D.R. Horton, operating in 26 states. The company’s homebuilding operations target first-time, move-up, and active adult homebuyers mainly under the Lennar brand name. Lennar’s financial-services segment provides mortgage financing and related services to its homebuyers. Miami-based Lennar is also involved in multifamily construction and has invested in numerous housing-related technology startups.