United Homes Group - Earnings Call - Q3 2025

Executive Summary

• Q3 2025 was weak operationally: revenue fell 23% YoY to $90.8M with 262 closings (-29% YoY), and diluted EPS was $(0.53); gross margin compressed to 17.7% (adjusted 19.6%) due to heavier discounting despite ongoing cost savings.
• Sequential demand improved through the quarter: September was the best order month YTD; weekly traffic increased to 350–400 vs ~200 in 1H; starts rose 66% YoY, and backlog value increased 18% YoY to $94.3M.
• Governance shock: strategic alternatives review concluded with decision to remain independent; multiple directors resigned (Nasdaq board-compliance work ongoing), and management noted potential pressure from lenders/partners if governance isn’t resolved. The Oct 20 announcement coincided with the stock falling ~52% that day, a key reaction catalyst.
• Liquidity remained adequate but declined sequentially to $83.1M (cash $25.6M + $57.5M revolver capacity), and lots controlled increased to ~7,700.
• S&P Global consensus estimates for Q3 2025 revenue and EPS were unavailable; we cannot benchmark against Street numbers (Values retrieved from S&P Global).*

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

• What Went Well

  • Sequential demand inflected: “September being our best order month year-to-date,” with weekly traffic up to 350–400 vs ~200 in 1H, supporting order momentum into Q4.
  • Product/operations: ASP up ~8% YoY to ~$346k; adjusted gross margin of 19.6% despite pricing pressure, aided by ongoing rebid cost savings.
  • Pipeline and activity: starts +66% YoY to 526; backlog units/value up 20%/18% YoY to 264/$94.3M, and active communities increased to 58 currently (56 at 9/30).

• What Went Wrong

  • Volume and revenue pressure: closings down 29% YoY (262 vs 369), revenue down 23% YoY to $90.8M, reflecting softer early-quarter demand and delayed community openings.
  • Margin compression: gross margin fell 120 bps YoY to 17.7% (adjusted 19.6%) driven by “more aggressive discounting of inventory,” partially offset by direct cost savings.
  • GAAP optics and liquidity drift: large non-cash derivative fair value loss ($27.2M) drove net loss of $(31.3)M; liquidity declined to $83.1M from $95.2M in Q2, and SG&A intensity remained elevated (19.4%; adjusted 16.5%).

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Desiree, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the United Homes Group Third Quarter 2025 earnings call and webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. Please be advised that this call is being recorded. Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference over to Erin Reeves McGinnis with United Homes Group. You may begin.

Erin McGinnis (General Counsel)

Good morning and welcome to United Homes Group Third Quarter of 2025 earnings call. Before the call begins, I would like to note that this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. United Homes Group cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties which change over time. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described by United Homes Group in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Additionally, reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be accessed through the company's website and in its SEC filings. Hosting the call today are United Homes Group's Chief Executive Officer, Jack Micenko, and Chief Financial Officer, Keith Feldman. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jack.

Jack Micenko (CEO)

Thanks, Erin, and good morning to everyone. We appreciate you joining us today to discuss United Homes Group's third quarter performance and our outlooks for the period ahead. Let me begin with an important update on governance. Earlier this year, our board formed a special committee of independent directors to review a full range of strategic alternatives for our company. After a comprehensive process and in consultation with our legal and financial advisors, the special committee unanimously determined that continuing to execute as an independent public company is the best path forward given the current macroeconomic environment. In connection with the conclusion of this review, several members of our board notified us of their intention to resign effective November 14th. We are taking steps to identify and appoint new independent directors in a timely manner to maintain compliance with our Nasdaq listing requirements.

While transitions of this nature can understandably raise questions, I want to highlight that in their resignation letters, the departing directors expressed their views on governance and structure while also noting the capability of the company's current management team to address the current market environment and operational challenges. We're grateful for their service, and we wish them well in their future endeavors. Turning now to market conditions, we experienced uneven demand in the third quarter as elevated new and existing home sale inventory levels, combined with affordability pressures and a lack of consumer confidence, continued to weigh on the industry. That said, we saw encouraging trends as the quarter progressed, culminating in September being our best order month year-to-date. Traffic also improved meaningfully, averaging between 350-400 weekly visits during the third quarter, compared to around 200 per week in the first half of the year.

The increase in buyer engagement is an encouraging leading indicator, especially as we continue to expand our community footprint. On the margin front, we delivered reported home sales gross margins of 17.7% or 19.6% on an adjusted basis. While these levels remain under pressure due to elevated incentive activity and higher discounting of new finished inventory in a competitive environment, our efforts to right-size the business, including targeted headcount reductions and cost savings, are positioning us to better navigate current market conditions while maintaining the capacity to drive growth. Looking ahead, new community openings should help increase sales and closings as we currently have 58 active communities versus 46 at the beginning of the year. To sum up, while industry conditions remain uneven, our September rebound, improving traffic trends, and successful new community openings demonstrate the resilience of our business.

We remain realistic about near-term market challenges, but confident that fundamentals of housing demand, namely the need for new construction, favorable demographics, and consumer aspiration for home ownership, position us well for the future. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Keith, who will provide more detail on our operational and financial results.

Keith Feldman (CFO)

Thank you, Jack, and good morning. For the third quarter of 2025, we reported a net loss of $31.3 million, which includes a loss from the change in fair value of derivative liabilities of $27.2 million, primarily related to the accounting for contingent earn-out and warrant liabilities, which fluctuates each quarter based on our ending stock price and warrant price. The earn-out will be settled exclusively in common shares upon reaching certain stock price hurdles and will never result in a cash expense for the company. For the nine months ending September 30, 2025, net loss was $19.5 million, which includes a loss from the change in fair value of $12.2 million, primarily related to the accounting for potential earn-out and warrant liabilities. Revenue for the third quarter of 2025 was $90.8 million, a decrease of $27.8 million from $118.6 million in the third quarter of 2024.

Revenue for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, was $283.3 million, compared to $328.9 million for the nine months ending September 30th, 2024. The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by lower home closings, partially offset by an increase in average sales price. Home closings for the third quarter of 2025 totaled 262 homes, down from 369 homes in the prior year. Home closings for the nine months ending September 30th, 2025, were 817 homes, compared to 1,017 homes for the same period in 2024. The average sales price for production-built homes during the quarter was approximately $346,000, an 8.1% increase compared to the $320,000 in the third quarter of 2024. Net new orders for the third quarter were 324 homes, down from 341 homes in the prior year period. As Jack mentioned, we saw encouraging sequential improvement in sales as the quarter progressed.

Net new orders for the nine months ending September 30th, 2025, were 924 homes, compared to 1,048 homes in 2024. Backlog as of September 30th, 2025, stood at 264 homes, representing approximately $94.3 million in value. Gross profit for the third quarter of 2025 was $16 million, down $6.4 million from $22.4 million in the prior year period. Gross margin declined by 120 basis points to 17.7% compared to the same period last year. Gross margin for the third quarter reflected continued pricing pressure as we increased discounting and incentives to move inventory. This was partially offset by ongoing construction cost savings driven by our systematic rebid initiative. Adjusted gross margin was 19.6%, down from 20.6%. For the nine months ending September 30th, 2025, gross profit was $50.1 million, which decreased from $58.1 million in the same period in 2024. Gross margin remained consistent from the prior year at 17.7%.

In the nine months ending September 30, 2025. Adjusted gross margin was 20% for the nine months ending September 30th, 2025, a decrease from 20.7% in the prior period. Selling, general, and administrative expenses for the third quarter were $17.6 million, excluding approximately $2.6 million in stock-based compensation expense and transaction costs. Adjusted SG&A totaled $15 million, or 16.5% of revenue. For the nine months ending September 30th, 2025, SG&A expense was $51.7 million, and adjusted SG&A expense was $44.9 million, or 15.9% of revenue. As of September 30, 2025, we had 56 active communities, up slightly from 55 a year ago. Community count began to trend upward in the second half of 2025. As of today, we have 58 active communities.

As of September 30th, 2025, we controlled approximately 7,700 lots, which include a mix of owned, optioned, and land banked assets, positioning us to drive further growth and capture market opportunities. We had approximately $83.1 million of liquidity in cash and availability on our credit facility as of Q3. In light of the announcement Jack previously discussed, we are focused on improving operations and profitability by executing on our key initiatives and driving efficiencies through cost savings objectives. That concludes our prepared remarks.

Operator (participant)

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining in. You may now disconnect.