PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: PulteGroup, Inc.

Updated on October 31, 2026 · accounts published on October 22, 2026

A profitable, lightly indebted business whose earnings are now shrinking

Pulte trades at a P/E of 13.4 over the last 12 months, 25 % below its sector median of 17.9 but 33 % above its own ten-year median.

• Is Pulte expensive or cheap? Pulte's P/E is 25 % below its sector median, yet the stock has traded at a lower P/E 77 % of the time in the last decade.
• How is the business doing? EPS fell 24 % over the last 12 months, and the 14 % operating margin trails its 2014-2025 average of 16 %.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt is just $2.00 per share in fiscal 2025, 1.6 % of the share price, and the dividend has risen 7 years running.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $2.63 for the quarter reported on February 4, 2027, after 2026 estimates fell 7 % in 30 days.
• Could Pulte's balance sheet weather a recession? Pulte clears the consumer-cyclical tests on margins, ROIC and debt, with net debt at 0.1× EBITDA in fiscal 2025.

Is Pulte expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Pulte trades at a P/E of 13.4, 25 % below the sector median of 17.9 across 209 companies. Against its own history the picture flips. The ten-year median P/E is 10.1, so today's multiple sits 32 % above it, and the stock has been cheaper 77 % of the time over the last decade, in a range of 4.8 to 22.2. For a cyclical company the gap matters. The P/E is more than 130 % of its five-year average of 7.7, which can mean earnings depressed by the cycle or costly optimism. A free cash flow yield of 8.7 % over the last 12 months offers some support.

How is the business doing?

Revenue slipped 3.5 % over the last 12 months while EPS fell 24 %, so profits are shrinking faster than sales. The operating margin of 14 % sits below fiscal 2025's 17 % and below the 2014-2025 average of 16 %, and further still below the 20.1 % five-year average for 2021-2025. Margins are coming off a strong stretch. Returns hold up better. ROIC of 10.9 % over the last 12 months is 1.5 points above the sector median of 9.4 %, and it topped 10 % in 8 of the last 10 fiscal years, with the weakest at 6.0 % in 2017. ROE stands at 13.8 %.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt barely matters here. Debt to equity is 0.17 over the last 12 months, and fiscal 2025 net debt comes to $2.00 per share ($12.14 of debt against $10.15 of cash), or 1.6 % of the current share price. A current ratio of 5.84 leaves a wide liquidity cushion. The dividend is modest at a 0.8 % yield over the last 12 months, but it takes only 8 % of fiscal 2025 earnings and has grown for 7 consecutive fiscal years, which leaves plenty of room. The Piotroski score of 5 out of 9 points to a middling year rather than a strong one.

What to expect from the next earnings?

The last report, on October 22, 2026, showed EPS of $2.53 against $2.65 expected, a 4.5 % miss, although Pulte has beaten EPS estimates in 5 of the last 8 quarters. Analysts have grown more cautious since then. Over the last 30 days the 2026 EPS consensus fell 6.8 %, from $10.12 to $9.43 among 11 analysts, and the revenue consensus dropped 4.6 %. Of the 44 analysts covering the company, 20 recommend buying, 21 holding and 3 selling. The next results arrive on February 4, 2027, with EPS of $2.63 expected. A figure close to that would help steady estimates that are still falling.

Could Pulte's balance sheet weather a recession?

In consumer cyclicals demand can drop sharply in a downturn, so analysts look at returns averaged over a full cycle and at the cushion needed to survive a bad year. Peter Lynch warned that cyclicals look cheap when they are expensive and expensive when they are cheap. Pulte passes most of these tests: a five-year operating margin of 20.1 % against a healthy floor of 8 %, a five-year ROIC of 18.7 % against 12 %, net debt/EBITDA of 0.1× against a 3× ceiling, and an Altman Z of 5.8, safe above 2.99. It fails on inventory turnover, 1.0× in fiscal 2025 against a 4× benchmark, and on EV/sales of 1.4×, above its ten-year average of 1.2×.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.