(Reuters) -Homebuilder Lennar reported a 46% decline in third-quarter profit and forecast fourth-quarter home deliveries below Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as inflationary pressures continued to weigh on housing demand.
Shares of Lennar fell 4.4% in after-hours trading.
Elevated interest rates and affordability challenges have pressured U.S. homebuilders' profitability in recent quarters.
Treasury yields rose on Wednesday despite a rate cut, reversing losses seen in June. Lower yields could have
eased mortgage rates, potentially improving affordability.
Analysts at BofA Securities said on Thursday that the Fed's rate cut is unlikely to significantly impact the housing market in the short term, as homebuilder stocks and mortgage rates had already priced in the move following June's announcement.
Lennar's profit margins remain under pressure due to sales incentives such as mortgage rate buydowns and cost adjustments amid weakening home demand.
The company does not expect to be impacted by tariffs and will focus on improving margins, Lennar Co-CEO and Chairman Stuart Miller told CNBC.
The second-largest U.S. homebuilder by sales expects fourth-quarter home deliveries in the range of 22,000 to 23,000 units, below analysts' estimates of over 25,000 units, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Lennar reported earnings of $2.29 per share for the third quarter, compared with $4.26 per share a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter ended August 31 fell 8.7% to $8.25 billion, below analysts' estimates of $9 billion.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
