11:04 AM EST, 01/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- D.R. Horton ( DHI ) reported smaller-than-expected declines in fiscal first-quarter results on Tuesday while reiterating its revenue outlook for 2025 as the construction company said incentives helped spur demand despite affordability challenges.

Revenue fell to $7.61 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31 from $7.73 billion a year ago and beat the $7.01 billion average analyst estimate on FactSet. Earnings per share dipped to $2.61 from $2.82 year over year but surpassed the $2.35 consensus.

"Although the level of new and existing home inventories has increased from historically low levels, the supply of homes at affordable price points is generally still limited, and demographics supporting housing demand remain favorable," Executive Chairman David Auld said in a statement.

While competitive pressures remain, incentives such as mortgage-rate buydowns have helped address affordability challenges and spur demand, he said.

Homebuilding revenue decreased 2% to $7.17 billion while the company closed 1% fewer homes on a year-over-year basis at 19,059. Orders were down 1% to 17,837 homes while their value fell 2% to $6.65 billion.

Rental operations generated $217.8 million, compared with $195.3 million the year earlier. Forestar ( FOR ) , D.R. Horton's ( DHI ) majority owned residential lot development subsidiary, generated $250.4 million in revenue on 2,333 lots sold, down from $305.9 million on 3,150 lots in the same period of fiscal 2024.

For the full year, D.R. Horton ( DHI ) continues to anticipate revenue between $36 billion and $37.5 billion, compared with fiscal 2024's $36.8 billion, which is analysts' view for this year. It still plans to close between 90,000 and 92,000 homes, up from 89,690 closings last year.

D.R. Horton ( DHI ) lowered its expected income tax rate by 50 basis points to 24%. It raised its target for share repurchases to between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion from a late-October projection of about $2.4 billion.

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