Lennar Corporation posted a strong year-end and Q4 2023, underscoring the durability of its volume-centric operating model amid a volatile rate environment. The company delivered over 73,000 homes in 2023, a 10% YoY increase, with net income of $3.9 billion ($4.82 per share) and substantial cash generation well above 2022 levels. Lennar ended the year with robust liquidity (approximately $8.9 billion of homebuilding liquidity, including $6.3 billion of cash and near-zero revolver usage) and achieved a low Homebuilding debt-to-total capital ratio of 9.6%, marking the strongest balance-sheet posture in the company’s recent history. The asset-light, land-light strategy and the Lennar machine (digital pricing, optimized production, and partner-driven land acquisition) enabled persistent volume, market-share gains across many markets, and disciplined capital allocation (share repurchases totaling $1.1 billion in 2023; targeted at least $2 billion in 2024) despite structural headwinds from higher mortgage rates.
Management framed 2024 as a continuation of this operating discipline: target deliveries of around 80,000, gross margins broadly in line with 2023 levels, and a sequential margin improvement as the year progresses given expected easing in rates and lower incentives. Q4 commentary highlighted ongoing benefits from the land-light framework (84% of land acquisitions finished sites; owned years reduced to 1.4 years; control% up to 76%), as well as a 161-day cycle time for single-family homes (down 22 days QoQ). The near-term guidance for Q1 2024 implies continued but temporarily pressured margins (21.0%–21.25% gross margin) with expected normalization as incentives recede and mortgage financing dynamics stabilize. The combination of durable cash-flow generation, a strong equity base, and an explicit capital-return plan supports a constructive investment narrative for Lennar within the current housing cycle.