For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in D.R. Horton (DHI) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to DHI for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
D.R. Horton's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at D.R. Horton's main business drivers.
D.R. Horton, Inc., based in Texas, is one of the leading national homebuilders, primarily engaged in the construction and sale of single-family houses both in the entry-level and move-up markets. D.R. Horton’s operations are spread across 126 markets in 36 states in the East, Midwest, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and West regions of the United States. Its houses are sold under the brand names D.R. Horton - America’s Builder, Emerald Homes, Express Homes and Freedom Homes.
Its reporting segments are: Homebuilding (contributing 92.3% to total revenues in fiscal 2024), Forestar (4.1%), Financial Services (2.4%) and Rental (4.6%). Of the total revenues, 3.4% represents the elimination of intercompany transactions & Other.
The Homebuilding segment comprises six reporting regions and derives revenues primarily from the sale of completed homes built on lots it develops and on finished lots purchased ready for home construction. In addition to single-family detached homes, the segment builds attached homes, such as town homes, duplexes, triplexes and condominiums. The segment also derives revenues by selling lands and lots.
The Forestar land development reporting segment operates in 65 markets across 24 states, where it owns — directly or through joint ventures — interests in residential and mixed-use projects. Forestar Group Inc. (FOR), a publicly traded residential and real estate development company, is a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton. On March 31, 2025, D.R. Horton owned 62% of Forestar’s outstanding common stock.
The Financial Services segment, through the mortgage subsidiary, DHI Mortgage, provides mortgage financing and title agency services primarily to the company’s homebuilding customers.
The Rental segment includes its single-family and multi-family rental operations. The single-family rental operations primarily construct and lease single-family homes within a community and then market each community for a bulk sale of rental homes. The multi-family rental operations develop, construct, lease and sell residential rental properties.
The company remains engaged in other business activities through subsidiaries, through which it conducts insurance-related operations and owns non-residential real estate. These operations are grouped and presented as Other.
Bottom Line
While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in D.R. Horton ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in July 2015 would be worth $4,952.82, or a gain of 395.28%, as of July 11, 2025, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 202.44% and gold's return of 174.64% over the same time frame.
Analysts are forecasting more upside for DHI too.
D.R. Horton has been facing the wrath of continued housing market softness due to declining consumer confidence and affordability concerns, resulting in lower net sales orders as the market scenario remains weak. Also, elevated SG&A expenses amid an inflated economic environment are added concerns. Earnings estimates have trended downward for fiscal 2025 over the past 60 days, depicting analysts' concern. However, the company's continuous efforts in offering necessary sales incentives and move-in-ready homes are expected to bode well in the upcoming term. Also, improved cycle times and lot acquisition strategies are encouraging to its prospects. Its focus on small tuck-in acquisitions that expand the footprint in emerging geographies is encouraging. Shares of D.R. Horton have outperformed the industry in the past three months.
Shares have gained 10.60% over the past four weeks and there have been 2 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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