Howard Hughes Holdings Inc (HHH) (Q3 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Vantage Insurance Momentum ...

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Release Date: November 06, 2026

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .

Positive Points

• Howard Hughes Holdings Inc ( NYSE:HHH ) reported strong real estate operations with same-store NOI growth of 9%, driven by office leasing and multifamily stabilization.

• Vantage delivered solid insurance results with net income up 22% to $80 million and pretax income more than doubling to $103 million, alongside an improved combined ratio of 94.9%.

• The company is transitioning to an asset-light model, having already received significant offers for assets and expecting up to $2 billion in incremental proceeds by the end of 2027.

• Residential land pricing increased 18% over the trailing 12 months, and the estimated value of remaining land rose to $5.701 billion despite selling 398 acres for $435 million.

• The condominium pipeline represents over $5 billion in expected future revenue, with 62% of 1,743 units pre-sold or under contract, providing significant future cash flow.

Negative Points

• MPC EBT declined to $89.5 million from $205 million year-over-year, partly due to a $19.4 million noncash remeasurement loss and the absence of a large bulk land sale.

• The sale of municipal utility district receivables generated a $105.4 million GAAP loss, reflecting a discount to future cash flows.

• G&A expenses increased to $51.6 million from $34 million, driven by $13 million in incremental interest expense and $4-5 million from Vantage.

• Vantage's reinsurance segment faced a large energy loss and 4 points of adverse prior development, contributing to a higher accident year combined ratio of 96.2% excluding catastrophes.

• Property and casualty insurance markets are softening, with property rates declining and competition increasing, which may pressure future underwriting margins.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you give a sense of which real estate assets you plan to sell or joint-venture, and how much in proceeds you expect, given the prior target of being done by the end of 2027? A: Executive Chairman Bill Ackman ( Trades , Portfolio ) said the company likely won't be fully done by the end of 2027 but expects "very significant progress" by then. The strategy is to retain control of the master planned communities while bringing in passive partners such as pension funds and family offices, plus selling some noncore assets outright. He said offers have already come in on major assets since the September announcement, advisers are engaged, and something could be reported within 3 months, with meaningful progress in 6 to 9 months. He framed roughly a couple of billion dollars of incremental proceeds by the end of next year as a reasonable approximation, though it could be more or less.

Q: As proceeds come in from selling CRE and you lose some income, how should investors think about the redeployment trade on a shorter-term basis? A: CFO Carlos Olea said stabilized real estate bought at a 6.5% return with 5.5% financing and one-third equity is generally a lower-return business, perhaps 8% to 12% ROE, versus the company's ambition of more than 20% ROE combining insurance profitability and investment results. By taking out roughly 80% of the equity in an asset, earning fees and promotes from third parties, and shifting capital toward insurance, he said Howard Hughes can lift real estate ROE from the lower double digits to the high teens or better. He called the move "extremely accretive" to both the real estate and insurance businesses.

Q: Mahana's 15% presale pace looks slower than prior Ward Village towers. Is that project-specific or a sign that higher rates are finally hitting the strong Oahu condo market? A: CEO David O'Reilly said Oahu's condo market has been good, not super strong, over the past five years, and Howard Hughes has been "spoiled" by delivering 60% to 70% presold in 60 days on prior towers. In today's more normal, higher-rate environment, 15% in 30 days is "the celebration." He noted the last four towers were front-row beachfront, while Mahana sits at the head of the park and set back, so slower velocity was expected. He called 15% "still an exceptional result."

Q: Should investors expect the securities portfolio to change meaningfully quarter to quarter, or do you look through market gyrations such as the recent anti-AI and anti-data-center pushback? A: CIO Ryan Israel said only a few hundred businesses worldwide meet the quality bar for long-term ownership, and opportunities to buy them at prices yielding at least 20% don't come up often. Pershing Square's history suggests multiyear holding periods averaging four-plus years, with some held for decades, and he expects that to continue. He added that Vantage's cash generation from underwriting profits and investment income lets the company lean into volatility and buy more when cash arrives. Ackman said the portfolio is long-dated, built to compound at 20%-plus, and unlikely to change materially absent a big upward move in a stock price or a change in long-term view.

Q: Given softening property rates in primary and reinsurance, how do you see pricing trending into 2027, and what could cause property rates to bottom? A: Director Marc Grandisson said the answer starts with where capital wants to be, and after two to three years of good results and no major catastrophe, property is lining up to be fairly competitive. He said the bottom is extremely difficult to pin down and a major loss event would change market thinking. Vantage is not a big property cat writer and is content to stay on the sidelines there given softening pricing, while focusing on non-cat property specialties such as facultative business to reduce volatility.

Q: How does inorganic growth fit alongside organic growth at Vantage? A: Grandisson said the primary focus is organic: hiring teams and individuals with different expertise. The company is always open to outside teams, smaller outfits, or even companies, but anything acquired would have to be special, bringing something specialized and distinct that further diversifies Vantage's insurance liabilities and assets. First and foremost, he said, is maximizing and optimizing what the current team does.

Q: Within the construction business that drove premium growth, is pricing keeping pace, and how do you think about writing premiums for data centers? A: Grandisson said Vantage's construction play is professional liability-led, with some attached general liability, and is not a property play at all. Pricing is "great" and "fine," and the business is relationship-driven, with close ties to builders and developers, making it stickier and less exposed to market vagaries.

Q: As real estate capital is unlocked, what is the thinking on redeeming the preferred, adding capital to Vantage, and funding Howard Hughes condo development? A: Ackman said the company will look at this carefully with each capital inflow. Because Pershing Square owns the preferred, the Board will decide whether to redeem it or reinvest in the business. He said that on the margin the company would like to redeem the preferred so it owns more of the valuable business Grandisson is building, and Pershing Square is happy to have its preferred redeemed. With 47% ownership, he said interests are aligned, and the goal is to generate enough capital to both redeem the preferred and have excess capital for insurance.

Q: What would it take for Vantage to be upgraded by AM Best and re-rated by S&P, and is there a perceived conflict given Pershing Square's investment in S&P Global? A: Grandisson said Vantage is A- with a positive outlook at AM Best, is working toward an upgrade, and has every confidence it should happen over the next several quarters. On S&P, he said the structure is unusual and discussions are ongoing to help the agency understand how everything fits together. Ackman said S&P downgraded Vantage formulaically because Howard Hughes was rated BB when it bought an A- company, and he believes Howard Hughes' involvement is meaningfully credit positive. He said bringing in third-party capital and shifting capital into Vantage will make it look like an insurer with a real estate subsidiary, which should help actual and perceived creditworthiness. He dismissed any conflict from owning S&P Global stock, saying ratings credibility is central to S&P's profits.

Q: The stock seems

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .