By John Gittelsohn | Bloomberg Business
Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, jumped the most in nine months after reporting higher-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter as the revived U.S. economy spurs new housing demand.
Net income for the three months through May was $183 million, or 79 cents a share, compared with $137.7 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier, the Miami-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The average estimate of 12 analysts was for earnings of 64 cents a share, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
U.S. builders have been expecting sales to improve as the economy strengthens, low mortgage rates help make purchases affordable and millennials move into their prime homebuying years. New-home sales in May rose to the highest rate since February 2008, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Lennar’s orders for the quarter increased 18 percent from a year earlier to 7,271 homes, while the value of orders climbed 28 percent.
