Compared to Estimates, Meritage (MTH) Q4 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics

For the quarter ended December 2025, Meritage Homes (MTH) reported revenue of $1.43 billion, down 11.5% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.67, compared to $4.72 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 billion, representing a surprise of -5.16%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +8.06%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.55.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Meritage performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Homes ordered - Total: 3,224 versus 3,521 estimated by eight analysts on average.
• Home Closing Revenue - Average sales price - Total: $375.00 compared to the $385.51 average estimate based on eight analysts.
• Order Backlog - Total: 1,168 versus the eight-analyst average estimate of 1,333.
• Homes closed - Total: 3,755 versus 3,887 estimated by eight analysts on average.
• Order Backlog - Average sales price - Total: $377.00 compared to the $407.72 average estimate based on six analysts.
• Active Communities - Ending - Total: 336 versus 332 estimated by six analysts on average.
• Order Backlog Value - Total: $440.56 million versus the six-analyst average estimate of $547.9 million.
• Home Orders - Average sales price - Total: $374.00 compared to the $388.63 average estimate based on five analysts.
• Revenue- Total closing revenue (Homebuilding): $1.43 billion compared to the $1.51 billion average estimate based on nine analysts. The reported number represents a change of -11.5% year over year.
• Revenue- Home closing: $1.41 billion versus $1.5 billion estimated by nine analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -11.9% change.
• Revenue- Financial Services: $8.24 million versus $8.65 million estimated by eight analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -2.3% change.
• Revenue- Land closing: $21.07 million versus the eight-analyst average estimate of $10.73 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +21.4%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Meritage here>>>

Shares of Meritage have returned +4.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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