D R Horton Company

The nation's biggest home builder isn't exactly a household name. But D.R. Horton Inc. got there by emulating one: Wal-Mart. By adapting the discount retailer's concept of low overhead to housing, Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton has taken on small and medium-sized builders that can't match its economies of scale. What's more, the company has stayed more nimble than its rivals because its operations are decentralized. And it has more than mimicked Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in its relentless growth.

dallas -- The top two executives at home builder D.R. Horton Inc. received bonuses of nearly $1.6 million each although the company suffered heavy losses in the worst housing downturn in years, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The bonuses made up most of the compensation paid to Chairman Donald R. Horton and Chief Executive Donald J. Tomnitz during the Fort Worth-based company's fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Horton, 57, got "incentive bonus payments" of $1.

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Thursday that fiscal third-quarter orders fell 4.4%, prompting the company to slash its forecast amid a deteriorating market. Not even price cuts could save Fort Worth-based Horton from the effects of higher mortgage rates and a rising inventory of unsold homes. "It's pretty brutal out there," JMP Securities analyst Jim Wilson said. "The strategy they're trying is to move product no matter what it takes. Their margins are getting clobbered."

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Tuesday that orders for new homes tumbled 37% last quarter and that the spring selling season had been slower than usual, suggesting that the housing market had not hit bottom. Chairman Donald R. Horton said conditions remained tough in most markets because of high inventories of unsold new and existing homes. He also said "the spring selling season has not gotten off to its usual strong start."

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Tuesday that orders for new homes tumbled 37% last quarter and that the spring selling season had been slower than usual, suggesting that the housing market had not hit bottom. Chairman Donald R. Horton said conditions remained tough in most markets because of high inventories of unsold new and existing homes. He also said "the spring selling season has not gotten off to its usual strong start."

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Thursday that quarterly profit dropped 21%, a week after the company said orders fell and slashed its forecast because of eroding market demand. Home builder Brookfield Homes Corp. of Del Mar, Calif., reported a 34% rise in its second-quarter profit thanks to gains from land sales. The rise of mortgage rates and prices over the last few years has caught up with the U.S. housing market.

Using very un-CEO-like verbiage, the chief of home builder D.R. Horton Inc. on Wednesday made clear his belief that the housing market will remain in a slump and the company will close on fewer homes this year than last. "I don't want to be too sophisticated here, but 2007 is going to suck, all 12 months of the calendar year," Chief Executive Donald Tomnitz said at a Citigroup Inc. conference in New York. "Our future is not as bright as what we would like it to be."

dallas -- The top two executives at home builder D.R. Horton Inc. received bonuses of nearly $1.6 million each although the company suffered heavy losses in the worst housing downturn in years, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The bonuses made up most of the compensation paid to Chairman Donald R. Horton and Chief Executive Donald J. Tomnitz during the Fort Worth-based company's fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Horton, 57, got "incentive bonus payments" of $1.

Using very un-CEO-like verbiage, the chief of home builder D.R. Horton Inc. on Wednesday made clear his belief that the housing market will remain in a slump and the company will close on fewer homes this year than last. "I don't want to be too sophisticated here, but 2007 is going to suck, all 12 months of the calendar year," Chief Executive Donald Tomnitz said at a Citigroup Inc. conference in New York. "Our future is not as bright as what we would like it to be."

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Thursday that quarterly profit dropped 21%, a week after the company said orders fell and slashed its forecast because of eroding market demand. Home builder Brookfield Homes Corp. of Del Mar, Calif., reported a 34% rise in its second-quarter profit thanks to gains from land sales. The rise of mortgage rates and prices over the last few years has caught up with the U.S. housing market.

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, said Thursday that fiscal third-quarter orders fell 4.4%, prompting the company to slash its forecast amid a deteriorating market. Not even price cuts could save Fort Worth-based Horton from the effects of higher mortgage rates and a rising inventory of unsold homes. "It's pretty brutal out there," JMP Securities analyst Jim Wilson said. "The strategy they're trying is to move product no matter what it takes. Their margins are getting clobbered."

The nation's biggest home builder isn't exactly a household name. But D.R. Horton Inc. got there by emulating one: Wal-Mart. By adapting the discount retailer's concept of low overhead to housing, Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton has taken on small and medium-sized builders that can't match its economies of scale. What's more, the company has stayed more nimble than its rivals because its operations are decentralized. And it has more than mimicked Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in its relentless growth.