D.R. Horton 10-K 2021-09-30

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021

or

For the Transition Period From To

Commission file number 1-14122

D.R. Horton, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1341 Horton Circle, Arlington, Texas 76011

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

(817) 390-8200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No ý

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ý

As of March 31, 2021, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $32.0 billion based on the closing price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

As of November 11, 2021, there were 356,529,507 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference (to the extent indicated) in Part III.

D.R. HORTON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

2021 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

D.R. Horton, Inc. is the largest homebuilding company in the United States as measured by number of homes closed. We construct and sell homes through our operating divisions in 98 markets across 31 states, primarily under the names of D.R. Horton, America’s Builder, Emerald Homes, Express Homes and Freedom Homes. Our common stock is included in the S&P 500 Index and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “DHI.” Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “D.R. Horton,” the “Company,” “we” and “our” used herein refer to D.R. Horton, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its predecessors and subsidiaries.

Our homebuilding business began in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, and our common stock has been publicly traded since 1992. We have expanded and diversified our homebuilding operations geographically over the years by investing available capital into our existing markets, start-up operations in new markets and acquisitions of other homebuilding companies. Our product offerings across our operating markets are broad and diverse. Our homes range in size from 1,000 to more than 4,000 square feet and in price from $150,000 to more than $1,000,000. For the year ended September 30, 2021, we closed 81,965 homes with an average closing price of $323,300.

Our business operations consist of homebuilding, a majority-owned residential lot development company, financial services, rental and other activities. Our homebuilding operations are our core business, generating 96% of our consolidated revenues of $27.8 billion in fiscal 2021 and 97% of consolidated revenues of $20.3 billion and $17.6 billion in fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our homebuilding operations generate most of their revenues from the sale of completed homes and to a lesser extent from the sale of land and lots. Approximately 90% of our home sales revenue in fiscal 2021 was generated from the sale of single-family detached homes, with the remainder from the sale of attached homes, such as townhomes, duplexes and triplexes.

Our position as the most geographically diverse and largest volume homebuilder in the United States provides a strong platform for us to compete for new home sales. Our product offerings include a broad range of homes for entry-level, move-up, active adult and luxury buyers. Our entry-level homes at affordable price points have experienced very strong demand from homebuyers, as the entry-level segment of the new home market remains under-served, with low inventory levels relative to demand.

During fiscal 2018, we acquired 75% of the outstanding shares of Forestar Group Inc. (Forestar), a publicly traded residential lot development company listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “FOR.” Forestar is a component of our homebuilding strategy to enhance operational and capital efficiency and returns by expanding relationships with land developers and increasing the portion of our land and lot position controlled through land purchase contracts. At September 30, 2021, we owned 63% of Forestar’s outstanding common stock.

Our financial services operations provide mortgage financing and title agency services to homebuyers in many of our homebuilding markets. DHI Mortgage, our 100% owned subsidiary, provides mortgage financing services primarily to our homebuyers and sells substantially all of the mortgages it originates and the related servicing rights to third-party purchasers. DHI Mortgage originates loans in accordance with purchaser guidelines and sells substantially all of its mortgage production after origination. Our 100% owned subsidiary title companies serve as title insurance agents by providing title insurance policies, examination and closing services, primarily to our homebuyers.

Our rental segment consists of multi-family and single-family rental operations. The multi-family rental operations develop, construct, lease, own and ultimately sell the residential properties. The single-family rental operations construct single-family rental homes with the intent to later market the community for a bulk sale of homes.

In addition to our homebuilding, Forestar, financial services and rental operations, we engage in other business activities through our subsidiaries. We conduct insurance-related operations, own non-residential real estate including ranch land and improvements and own and operate energy related assets. The results of these operations are immaterial for separate reporting and therefore are grouped together and presented as other.

Available Information

We make available, as soon as reasonably practicable, on our website, www.drhorton.com, all of our reports required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports can be found on the “Investor Relations” section of our website under “Financial Information” and include our annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, beneficial ownership reports on Forms 3, 4, and 5, proxy statements and amendments to such reports. Our SEC filings are also available to the public on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition to our SEC filings, our corporate governance documents, including our Code of Ethical Conduct for the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and senior financial officers, are available on the “Investor Relations” section of our website under “ESG.” Our stockholders may also obtain these documents in paper format free of charge upon request made to our Investor Relations department.

Our principal executive offices are located at 1341 Horton Circle, Arlington, Texas 76011, and our telephone number is (817) 390-8200. Information on or linked to our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K unless expressly noted.

OPERATING STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES

Following is an overview of our company’s operating structure and the significant processes that support our business controls, strategies and performance.

Homebuilding Markets

Our homebuilding business operates in 98 markets across 31 states, which provides us with geographic diversification in our homebuilding inventory investments and our sources of revenues and earnings. We believe our geographic diversification lowers our operational risks by mitigating the effects of local and regional economic cycles, and it also enhances our earnings potential by providing more diverse opportunities to invest in our business.

We conduct our homebuilding operations in the geographic regions, states and markets listed below, and we conduct our financial services operations in many of these markets. Our homebuilding operating divisions are aggregated into six reporting segments, also referred to as reporting regions, which comprise the markets below. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, we reassessed our operating segments and reportable segments and realigned the aggregation of our homebuilding operating segments into six new reportable segments to better allocate our homebuilding operating segments across geographic reporting regions. Our financial statements and the notes thereto contain additional information regarding segment performance.

When evaluating new or existing homebuilding markets for purposes of capital allocation, we consider local, market-specific factors, including among others:

• Economic conditions;

• Employment levels and job growth;

• Income level of potential homebuyers;

• Local housing affordability and typical mortgage products utilized;

• Market for homes at our targeted price points;

• Availability of land and lots in desirable locations on acceptable terms;

• Land entitlement and development processes;

• Availability of qualified subcontractors;

• New and secondary home sales activity;

• Competition;

• Prevailing housing products, features, cost and pricing; and

• Performance capabilities of our local management team.

Economies of Scale

We are the largest homebuilding company in the United States in fiscal 2021 as measured by number of homes closed, and we are also one of the largest builders in most of the markets in which we operate. We believe that our national, regional and local scale of operations provides us with benefits that may not be available to the same degree to some other smaller homebuilders, such as:

• Greater access to and lower cost of capital, due to our balance sheet strength and our lending and capital markets relationships;

• Volume discounts and rebates from national, regional and local materials suppliers and lower labor rates from certain subcontractors; and

• Enhanced leverage of our general and administrative activities, which allows us flexibility to adjust to changes in market conditions and compete effectively across our markets.

Decentralized Homebuilding Operations

We view homebuilding as a local business; therefore, most of our direct homebuilding activities are decentralized to provide flexibility to our local managers in making operational decisions. We believe that our local management teams, who are familiar with local market conditions, have the best information to make many decisions regarding their operations. At September 30, 2021, we had 56 separate homebuilding operating divisions, many of which operate in more than one market area. Generally, each operating division consists of a division president; a controller and accounting personnel; land entitlement, acquisition and development personnel; a sales manager and sales and marketing personnel; a construction manager and construction superintendents; customer service personnel; a purchasing manager and office staff. Our division presidents receive performance-based compensation if they achieve targeted financial and operating metrics related to their operating divisions. Following is a summary of our homebuilding activities that are decentralized in our local operating divisions, and the control and oversight functions that are centralized in our regional and corporate offices.

Operating Division Responsibilities

Each operating division is responsible for:

• Site selection, which involves

— A feasibility study;

— Soil and environmental reviews;

— Review of existing zoning and other governmental requirements;

— Review of the need for and extent of offsite work required to obtain project entitlements; and

— Financial analysis of the potential project;

• Negotiating lot purchase, land acquisition and related contracts;

• Obtaining all necessary land development and home construction approvals;

• Selecting land development subcontractors and ensuring their work meets our contracted scopes;

• Selecting building and architectural plans;

• Selecting home construction subcontractors and ensuring their work meets our contracted scopes;

• Planning and managing home construction schedules;

• Determining the pricing for each house plan and options in a given community;

• Developing and implementing local marketing and sales plans;

• Coordinating all interactions with customers and real estate brokers during the sales, construction and home closing processes; and

• Ensuring the quality and timeliness of post-closing service and warranty repairs provided to customers.

Centralized Controls

We centralize many important risk elements of our homebuilding business through our regional and corporate offices. We have separate homebuilding regional offices, which generally consist of a region president, a chief financial officer, legal counsel and other operational and office support staff. Each of our region presidents and their management teams are responsible for oversight of the operations of a number of homebuilding operating divisions, including:

• Review and approval of division business plans and budgets;

• Review and approval of all land and lot acquisition contracts;

• Review of all business and financial analysis for potential land and lot inventory investments;

• Oversight of land and home inventory levels;

• Monitoring division financial and operating performance; and

• Review of major personnel decisions and division incentive compensation plans.

Our corporate executives and corporate office departments are responsible for establishing our operational policies and internal control standards and for monitoring compliance with established policies and controls throughout our operations. The corporate office also has primary responsibility for direct management of certain key risk elements and initiatives through the following centralized functions:

• Financing;

• Cash management;

• Allocation of capital;

• Issuance and monitoring of inventory investment guidelines;

• Approval and funding of land and lot acquisitions;

• Monitoring and analysis of profitability, returns, costs and inventory levels;

• Risk and litigation management;

• Environmental assessments of land and lot acquisitions;

• Technology systems to support management of operations, marketing and financial information;

• Accounting and management reporting;

• Income taxes;

• Internal audit;

• Public reporting and investor and media relations;

• Administration of payroll and employee benefits;

• Negotiation of national purchasing contracts;

• Administration, reporting and monitoring of customer satisfaction surveys and resolutions of issues; and

• Approval of major personnel decisions and management incentive compensation plans.

Land/Lot Acquisition and Inventory Management

We acquire land for use in our operations after we have completed due diligence and generally after we have obtained the rights (known as entitlements) to begin development or construction work resulting in an acceptable number of residential lots. Before we acquire lots or tracts of land, we complete a feasibility study, which includes soil tests, independent environmental studies, other engineering work and financial analysis. We also evaluate the status of necessary zoning and other governmental entitlements required to develop and use the property for home construction. Although we purchase and develop land primarily to support our homebuilding activities, we may sell land and lots to other developers and homebuilders where we have excess land and lot positions or for other strategic reasons.

We also enter into land/lot contracts, in which we obtain the right, but generally not the obligation, to buy land or lots at predetermined prices on a defined schedule commensurate with anticipated home closings or planned development. These contracts generally are non-recourse, which limits our financial exposure to our earnest money deposited into escrow under the terms of the contract and any pre-acquisition due diligence costs we incur. This enables us to control land and lot positions with limited capital investment, which substantially reduces the risks associated with land ownership.

We directly acquire almost all of our land and lot positions. We are a party to a small number of joint ventures. Joint ventures are consolidated if we have a controlling interest, or accounted for under the equity method of accounting if we have a significant influence, but not control.

We attempt to mitigate our exposure to real estate inventory risks by:

• Controlling our level of inventory investment and managing our supply of land/lots owned and controlled through purchase contracts to match the expected housing demand in each of our operating markets;

• Monitoring local market and demographic trends, housing preferences and related economic developments, including the identification of desirable housing submarkets based on the quality of local schools, new job opportunities, local growth initiatives and personal income trends;

• Utilizing land/lot purchase contracts and seeking to acquire developed lots which are substantially ready for home construction, where possible; and

• Monitoring and managing the number of speculative homes (homes under construction without an executed sales contract) built in each subdivision.

Land Development and Home Construction

Substantially all of our land development and home construction work is performed by subcontractors. Subcontractors typically are selected after a competitive bidding process and are retained for a specific subdivision or series of house plans pursuant to a contract that obligates the subcontractor to complete the scope of work at an agreed-upon price. We employ land development managers and construction superintendents to monitor land development and home construction activities, participate in major design and building decisions, coordinate the activities of subcontractors and suppliers, review the work of subcontractors for quality and cost controls and monitor compliance with zoning and building codes. In addition, our construction superintendents interact with our homebuyers during the construction process and instruct buyers on post-closing home maintenance.

Our home designs are selected or prepared in each of our markets to appeal to local homebuyers’ expectations for affordability, home size and features, and our local management teams adjust product offerings to meet buyer demand as necessary. In many communities, we offer optional interior and exterior features to homebuyers for an additional charge. Construction time for our homes depends on the availability of labor, materials and supplies, the weather, the size of the home and other factors. We completed the construction of most homes within two to seven months in fiscal 2021, which is longer than prior years, as construction times have been impacted by the labor and materials shortages discussed below.

We typically do not maintain significant inventories of land development or construction materials, except for work in progress materials for active development projects and homes under construction. Generally, the construction materials used in our operations have been readily available from numerous sources, and we have contracts exceeding one year with certain suppliers of building materials that are cancelable at our option. In fiscal 2021, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and labor shortages on manufacturing production, combined with the improvement in economic conditions and the strong demand for new homes, caused multiple disruptions in our supply chain and have resulted in shortages in certain building materials and tightness in the construction labor market, which has caused our construction cycle to lengthen.

We are subject to governmental regulations that affect our land development and construction operations. At times, we have experienced delays in receiving the proper approvals from municipalities or other government agencies that have delayed our anticipated development and construction activities in certain communities.

Cost Controls

We control construction costs by designing our homes efficiently and by obtaining competitive bids for construction materials and labor. We also competitively bid and negotiate pricing from our subcontractors and suppliers based on the volume of services and products we purchase on a local, regional and national basis. We monitor our land development expenditures and construction costs versus budgets for each house and community, and we review our inventory levels, margins, expenses, profitability and returns for each operating market compared to both its business plan and our performance expectations.

We control overhead costs by centralizing certain accounting and administrative functions, monitoring staffing and compensation levels and by applying technology to business processes to improve productivity where practical. We review other general and administrative costs to identify efficiencies and savings opportunities in our operating divisions and our regional and corporate offices. We also direct many of our promotional activities toward local real estate brokers and digital marketing initiatives, which we believe are efficient uses of our marketing expenditures.

Marketing and Sales

We primarily use the D.R. Horton, Emerald Homes, Express Homes and Freedom Homes brand names to market and sell our homes. Our D.R. Horton branded communities are the core of our business and account for the majority of our home closings, focusing primarily on the first time and first time move-up homebuyer. Our Emerald branded communities appeal to buyers in search of higher-end move-up and luxury homes. Our Express branded communities primarily accommodate a segment of entry-level buyers who are focused on affordability. Our Freedom Homes brand offers homes at affordable price points to active adult buyers seeking a low-maintenance lifestyle. The percentage of home closings and home sales revenue contributed by each brand during fiscal 2021 was as follows:

We also use names of acquired companies for a period of time after the acquisition. We currently utilize the Pacific Ridge Homes brand in our Seattle, Washington market and the Terramor Homes brand in our Raleigh, North Carolina market. The product offerings in all of these markets are similar to, and included with, our D.R. Horton branded communities shown above.

We market and sell our homes primarily through commissioned employees, and the majority of our home closings also involve an independent real estate broker. We typically conduct home sales from sales offices located in furnished model homes in each subdivision, and we generally do not offer our model homes for sale until the completion of a subdivision. Our sales personnel assist prospective homebuyers by providing floor plans and price information, demonstrating the features and layouts of our homes and assisting with the selection of options, when available. We train and inform our sales personnel regarding construction schedules and marketing and advertising plans. As market conditions warrant, we may provide potential homebuyers with incentives, such as discounts or included upgrades, to be competitive in a particular market or to attain our targeted sales pace.

We market our homes and communities to prospective homebuyers and real estate brokers digitally, through email, search engine marketing, social media and our company website and other real estate websites, in addition to print media and advertisement. We also use billboards, radio, television, magazine and newspaper advertising locally as necessary. We attempt to position our subdivisions in locations that are desirable to potential homebuyers and convenient to or visible from local traffic patterns, which helps to reduce advertising costs. Model homes play an important role in our marketing efforts, and we expend significant effort and resources to create an attractive atmosphere in our model homes.

We also build speculative homes in most of our communities, which allow us to compete effectively with existing homes available in the market and improve our profits and returns. These homes enhance our marketing and sales efforts to prospective homebuyers who are renters or who are relocating to these markets and require a home within a short time frame, as well as to independent brokers who represent these homebuyers. We determine our speculative homes strategy in each market based on local market factors, such as new job growth, the number of job relocations, housing demand and supply, seasonality, current sales contract cancellation trends and our past experience in the market. We attempt to maintain a level of speculative home inventory in each community based on our current and planned sales pace, and we monitor and adjust speculative home inventory on an ongoing basis as conditions warrant.

Sales Contracts and Backlog

Our sales contracts require an earnest money deposit which varies in amount across our markets and communities. Additionally, customers are generally required to pay additional deposits when they select options or upgrade features for their homes. Our sales contracts include a financing contingency which permits customers to cancel and receive a refund of their deposit if they cannot obtain mortgage financing at prevailing or specified interest rates within a defined period. Our contracts may include other contingencies, such as the sale of an existing home. We either retain or refund customer deposits on cancelled sales contracts, depending upon the applicable provisions of the contract or other circumstances.

Sales order backlog represents homes under contract but not yet closed at the end of the period. At September 30, 2021, the value of our backlog of sales orders was $9.5 billion (26,221 homes), an increase of 16% from $8.2 billion (26,683 homes) at September 30, 2020. The average sales price of homes in backlog was $360,900 at September 30, 2021, up from the $306,800 average at September 30, 2020. Many of the contracts in our sales order backlog are subject to contingencies, such as those described above, which can result in cancellations. As a percentage of gross sales orders, cancellations of sales contracts were 17% in fiscal 2021 compared to 20% in fiscal 2020.

The length of time between the signing of a sales contract for a home and delivery of the home to the buyer (closing) is generally from one to seven months; therefore, substantially all of the homes in our sales backlog at September 30, 2021 are scheduled to close in fiscal 2022.

Customer Service and Quality Control

Our operating divisions are responsible for pre-closing quality control inspections and responding to customers’ post-closing needs. We believe that a prompt and courteous response to homebuyers’ needs during and after construction reduces post-closing repair costs, enhances our reputation for quality and service and ultimately leads to repeat and referral business from the real estate community and homebuyers. We typically provide our homebuyers with a ten-year limited warranty for major defects in structural elements such as framing components and foundation systems, a two-year limited warranty on major mechanical systems, and a one-year limited warranty on other construction components. The subcontractors who perform the actual construction also provide us with warranties on workmanship and are expected to respond to us and the homeowner in a timely manner. In addition, some of our suppliers provide manufacturer’s warranties on specified products installed in the home.

Rental Properties

Our multi-family rental operations develop, construct, lease, own and ultimately sell multi-family residential properties that produce rental income. We primarily focus on constructing garden style multi-family rental communities, which typically accommodate 200 to 400 dwelling units, in high growth suburban markets. We sold three multi-family rental properties in fiscal 2021 and two multi-family rental properties in fiscal 2020.

During fiscal 2020, we began constructing and leasing single-family homes as income-producing rental communities. Our single-family rental operations construct single-family rental homes with the intent to later market the community for a bulk sale of homes. We completed three bulk sales of single-family rental properties in fiscal 2021 and no bulk sales of these properties in fiscal 2020.

Forestar Residential Lot Development Operations

During fiscal 2018, we acquired 75% of the outstanding shares of Forestar. Forestar is a residential lot development company with operations in 56 markets across 23 states as of September 30, 2021. We owned approximately 63% of Forestar’s outstanding common stock at September 30, 2021. Forestar is a component of our homebuilding strategy to enhance operational efficiency and returns by expanding relationships with land developers and increasing the portion of our land and lot position controlled through land purchase contracts. Forestar’s strategy is focused on making investments in land acquisition and development to expand its residential lot development business across a geographically diversified national platform and consolidating market share in the fragmented U.S. lot development industry. Our homebuilding operations acquire finished lots from Forestar in accordance with the master supply agreement between the two companies. A shared services agreement is in place whereby we provide Forestar certain administrative, compliance, operational and procurement services. As the controlling shareholder, we have significant influence in guiding the strategic direction and operations of Forestar.

Customer Mortgage Financing

We provide mortgage financing services principally to purchasers of our homes in the majority of our homebuilding markets through DHI Mortgage, our 100% owned subsidiary. DHI Mortgage assists in the sales transaction by coordinating the mortgage application, mortgage commitment and home closing processes to facilitate a timely and efficient home-buying experience for our buyers. During the year ended September 30, 2021, DHI Mortgage provided mortgage financing services for approximately 67% of our total homes closed, and approximately 98% of DHI Mortgage’s loan volume related to homes closed by our homebuilding operations. Most of our homebuilding divisions also work with additional mortgage lenders that offer a range of mortgage financing programs to our homebuyers.

To limit the risks associated with our mortgage operations, DHI Mortgage originates loan products that we believe can be sold to third-party purchasers of mortgage loans, the majority of which are eligible for sale to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). DHI Mortgage sells substantially all of the loans and the related servicing rights to third-party purchasers after origination with limited recourse provisions. DHI Mortgage centralizes most of its control and oversight functions, including those related to loan underwriting, quality control, regulatory compliance, secondary marketing of loans, hedging activities, accounting and financial reporting.

Title Services

Through our subsidiary title companies, we serve as a title insurance agent in selected markets by providing title insurance policies, examination and closing services primarily to our homebuilding customers.

Human Capital Resources

People and Culture

For the past two fiscal years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we increased the number of employees in all of our operating segments and made no reductions to our employee compensation plans or employee benefit plans. As of September 30, 2021, we employed 11,788 people, of whom 7,947 work in our homebuilding operations, 2,891 in our financial services segment, 482 at our corporate office, 250 for our Forestar subsidiary, 175 in our rental operations and 43 in our other businesses. Of our homebuilding employees, 3,369 are involved in construction, 2,018 are sales and marketing personnel and 2,560 are office personnel.

We believe the people who work for our company are our most important resources and are critical to our continued success. We focus significant attention toward attracting and retaining talented and experienced individuals to manage and support our operations. Our people are expected to exhibit and promote honest, ethical and respectful conduct in the workplace. All of our employees must adhere to a code of conduct that sets standards for appropriate behavior and includes required internal training on preventing, identifying, reporting and stopping any type of discrimination.

Recruitment, Development and Retention

We are committed to hiring, developing and supporting a diverse workforce and maintaining an inclusive workplace. We believe diversity in the workplace produces unique perspectives and fresh ideas and helps us better serve our customers. Our management team also supports a culture of developing future leaders from our existing workforce, enabling us to promote from within for many leadership positions. We believe this provides long-term focus and continuity to our operations while also providing opportunities for the growth and advancement of our employees. Additionally, the long-term retention of our employees provides us with an experienced, cohesive workforce, which has been vital to achieving our goals. Our focus on retention is evident in the length of service of our executive, regional and divisional management teams. The average tenure of our executive team and homebuilding region presidents is 28 years, our homebuilding division presidents is 15 years and our city managers is greater than 10 years.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe our compensation package and benefits are competitive with others in our industry. In addition to base pay, eligible employees may participate in our short-term incentive bonus program and/or our stock compensation plan. We also offer our employees a broad range of benefits, including medical, dental and vision healthcare insurance and paid parental leave. Additional information about our compensation and employee benefit plans, such as our 401(k) savings plan, employee stock purchase plan and our stock compensation plans, is included in Note K to the accompanying financial statements.

Workplace Safety and Wellness

The safety and well-being of our employees is our first priority. We take workplace safety seriously at our construction sites and in our offices. We provide third-party training for our field personnel to become certified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and we communicate with all of our employees through a monthly safety newsletter to inform and reinforce our commitment to and concern for their well being.

We implemented safety protocols to protect our employees and our homebuyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. These protocols include complying with health and safety standards as required by federal, state and local government agencies, taking into consideration guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities. Many of our administrative and operational functions during this time required modification, including some of our workforce working remotely. Our experienced teams of people adapted to the changes in our work environment and have managed our business successfully during this challenging time.

Business Acquisitions

We routinely evaluate opportunities to profitably expand our operations, including potential acquisitions of other homebuilding or related businesses. Acquisitions of homebuilding and related businesses usually provide us with immediate land and home inventories and control of additional land and lot positions through purchase contracts. Also, employees of acquired businesses generally have specialized knowledge of local market conditions, including existing relationships with municipalities, land owners, developers, subcontractors and suppliers. These inventory positions and local market knowledge and relationships could take us several years to develop through our own efforts. We seek to limit the risks associated with acquiring other companies by conducting extensive operational, financial and legal due diligence on each acquisition and by performing financial analysis to determine that each acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on our earnings within an acceptable period of time.

Competition

The homebuilding, lot development and rental housing industries are highly competitive. We compete not only for homebuyers and renters, but also for desirable properties, raw materials, skilled labor and financing. We compete with local, regional and national companies in these industries and also with existing home sales, foreclosures and rental properties. We compete on the basis of price, location, quality and design of our homes and on mortgage financing terms.

The competitors to our financial services businesses include other mortgage lenders and title companies, including national, regional and local mortgage banks and other financial institutions. Some of these competitors are subject to fewer governmental regulations and have greater access to capital than we do, may operate with different lending criteria and/or may offer a broader or more attractive array of financing and other products and services to potential customers. We strive to provide flexible, fairly priced financing alternatives subject to applicable regulations.

Our businesses compete with other companies across all industries to attract and retain highly skilled and experienced employees, managers and executives. Competition for the services of these individuals increases as business conditions improve in the homebuilding, lot development, financial services and rental housing industries and in the general economy.

Governmental Regulations and Environmental Matters

The homebuilding, lot development and rental housing industries are subject to extensive and complex regulations. We and the subcontractors we use must comply with many federal, state and local laws and regulations. These include zoning, density and development requirements and building, environmental, advertising, labor and real estate sales rules and regulations. These regulations and requirements affect substantially all aspects of our land development and home design, construction and sales processes in varying degrees across our markets. Our homes are inspected by local authorities where required, and homes eligible for insurance or guarantees provided by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) are subject to inspection by them. These regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities. In addition, our new housing developments may be subject to various assessments for schools, parks, streets, utilities and other public improvements.

Our construction and land development activities are also subject to an extensive array of local, state and federal statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning protection of health, safety and the environment. The particular compliance requirements for each site vary greatly according to location, environmental condition and the present and former uses of the site and adjoining properties. We believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with existing environmental regulations applicable to our business. Additionally, our compliance with such regulations has not had, nor is expected to have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, changes in regulations could increase our costs to comply with such regulations, as discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Our mortgage company must comply with extensive state and federal laws and regulations, which are administered by numerous agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA, VA, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. These laws and regulations include many compliance requirements, including licensing, consumer disclosures, fair lending and real estate settlement procedures. As a result, our operations are subject to regular, extensive examinations by the applicable agencies.

Seasonality

Although significant changes in market conditions have impacted our seasonal patterns in the past and could do so again in the future, we generally close more homes and generate greater revenues and pre-tax income in the third and fourth quarters of our fiscal year. The seasonal nature of our business can also cause significant variations in the working capital requirements for our homebuilding, lot development, financial services and rental operations. As a result of seasonal activity, our quarterly results of operations and financial position at the end of a particular fiscal quarter are not necessarily representative of the balance of our fiscal year.

Discussion of our business and operations included in this annual report on Form 10-K should be read together with the risk factors set forth below. They describe various risks and uncertainties we are or may become subject to, many of which are difficult to predict or beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties, together with other factors described elsewhere in this report, have the potential to affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, strategies or prospects in a material and adverse manner.

Risks Related to our Business and our Industry

The homebuilding, lot development and rental housing industries are cyclical and affected by changes in economic, real estate or other conditions that could adversely affect our business or financial results.

The homebuilding, lot development and rental housing industries are cyclical and are significantly affected by changes in general and local economic and real estate conditions, such as:

• employment levels;

• consumer confidence and spending;

• housing demand;

• availability of financing for homebuyers;

• availability of financing for companies that purchase our rental properties;

• interest rates;

• availability and prices of new homes and existing homes for sale and availability and market values of rental properties; and

• demographic trends.

Adverse changes in these general and local economic conditions or deterioration in the broader economy would cause a negative impact on our business and financial results and increase the risk for asset impairments and writeoffs. Changes in these economic conditions may affect some of our regions or markets more than others. If adverse conditions affect our larger markets, they could have a proportionately greater impact on us than on some other companies.

In the past, the federal government’s fiscal and trade policies and economic stimulus actions have created uncertainty in the financial markets and caused volatility in interest rates, which impacted business and consumer behavior. Monetary policy actions affecting interest rates or fiscal policy actions and new legislation related to taxation, spending levels or borrowing limits, along with the related political debates, conflicts and compromises associated with such actions, may negatively impact the financial markets and consumer confidence. Such events could hurt the U.S. economy and the housing and rental markets and in turn, could adversely affect the operating results of our businesses.

Deployments of U.S. military personnel to foreign regions, terrorist attacks, other acts of violence or threats to national security and any corresponding response by the United States or others, domestic or international instability or social or political unrest may cause an economic slowdown in the markets where we operate, which could adversely affect our business.

If we experience any of the foregoing, potential customers may be less willing or able to buy our homes or our rental properties. In the future, our pricing and product strategies may also be limited by market conditions. We may be unable to change the mix of our home or rental offerings, reduce the costs of the homes or properties we build, offer more affordable homes or rental properties or satisfactorily address changing market conditions in other ways without adversely affecting our profits and returns. In addition, cancellations of home sales contracts in backlog may increase if homebuyers do not honor their contracts due to any of the factors discussed above.

Our financial services business is closely related to our homebuilding business, as it originates mortgage loans principally to purchasers of the homes we build. A decrease in the demand for our homes because of the foregoing matters will also adversely affect the financial results of this segment of our business. An increase in the default rate on the mortgages we originate may adversely affect our ability to sell the mortgages or the pricing we receive upon the sale of mortgages or may increase our recourse obligations for previous originations. We may be responsible for losses

associated with mortgage loans originated and sold to third-party purchasers in the event of errors or omissions relating to certain representations and warranties that the loans sold meet certain requirements, including representations as to underwriting standards, the type of collateral, the existence of primary mortgage insurance, and the validity of certain borrower representations in the connection with the loan, and we may be required to repurchase certain of those mortgage loans or provide indemnification. Repurchased mortgage loans and/or the settlement of claims associated with such loans could adversely affect our business or financial results. We establish reserves for estimated losses and future repurchase obligations for mortgage loans we have sold; however, actual future obligations related to these mortgages could differ significantly from our current estimated amounts. Additionally, in fiscal 2020 we began retaining mortgage servicing rights on some of our originations. As servicer for these loans, we may incur losses by having to advance payments to the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) bondholders to the extent there are insufficient collections to satisfy the required principal and interest remittances of the underlying MBS.

Constriction of the credit and public capital markets could limit our ability to access capital and increase our costs of capital.

During past economic and housing downturns, the credit markets constricted and reduced some sources of liquidity that were previously available to us. Consequently, we relied principally on our cash on hand to meet our working capital needs and repay outstanding indebtedness during those times. There likely will be periods in the future when financial market upheaval will increase our cost of capital or limit our ability to access the public debt markets or obtain bank financing.

Our homebuilding operations utilize a $2.19 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an uncommitted accordion feature that could increase the size of the facility to $3.0 billion, subject to certain conditions and availability of additional bank commitments. Our homebuilding revolving credit facility also provides for the issuance of letters of credit with a sublimit equal to 100% of the revolving credit commitment. The maturity date of the facility is April 20, 2026. Forestar and its subsidiaries, our financial services and rental subsidiaries, and certain of our other subsidiaries are not guarantors under our homebuilding revolving credit facility or our homebuilding senior notes.

Forestar has a $410 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an uncommitted accordion feature that could increase the size of the facility to $600 million, subject to certain conditions and availability of additional bank commitments. The Forestar revolving credit facility also provides for the issuance of letters of credit with a sublimit equal to the greater of $100 million and 50% of the revolving credit commitment. The maturity date of the facility is April 16, 2025. The Forestar revolving credit facility is guaranteed by Forestar’s wholly-owned subsidiaries that are not immaterial subsidiaries or have not been designated as unrestricted subsidiaries. The Forestar revolving credit facility is not guaranteed by us or our other subsidiaries.

Our mortgage subsidiary utilizes a $1.4 billion mortgage repurchase facility to finance the majority of the loans it originates. The capacity of the facility automatically increases during certain higher volume periods and can be further increased through additional commitments. The total capacity of the facility at September 30, 2021 was $1.8 billion, and its maturity date is February 18, 2022. Adverse changes in market conditions could make the renewal of these facilities more difficult or could result in an increase in the cost of these facilities or a decrease in the committed amounts. Such changes affecting our mortgage repurchase facility may also make it more difficult or costly to sell the mortgages that we originate.

We regularly assess our projected capital requirements to fund growth in our business, repay debt obligations, pay dividends, repurchase our common stock and support other general corporate and operational needs, and we regularly evaluate our opportunities to raise additional capital. D.R. Horton has an automatically effective universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC in July 2021, registering debt and equity securities that may be issued from time to time in amounts to be determined. Forestar also had an effective shelf registration statement filed with the SEC in September 2018, registering $500 million of equity securities. At September 30, 2021, $359.9 million remained available for issuance under Forestar’s shelf registration statement, of which $65.6 million was reserved for sales under its at-the-market equity offering program. In October 2021, after the expiration of Forestar’s existing registration statement and at-the-market equity offering program, a new shelf registration statement became effective, registering $750 million of equity securities. Forestar anticipates entering into a new at-the-market equity offering program under this new shelf registration statement. As market conditions permit, we may issue new debt or equity securities through the capital markets or obtain additional bank financing to fund our projected capital requirements or provide additional liquidity. We believe that our existing cash resources, revolving credit facilities, mortgage repurchase facility and ability to access the capital markets or obtain additional financing will provide sufficient liquidity to fund our near-term working capital

needs and debt obligations. Adverse changes in economic, homebuilding or capital market conditions due to COVID-19 or otherwise could negatively affect our business, liquidity and financial results, restrict our ability to obtain additional capital or increase our costs of capital.

Reductions in the availability of mortgage financing provided by government agencies, changes in government financing programs, a decrease in our ability to sell mortgage loans on attractive terms or an increase in mortgage interest rates could decrease our buyers’ ability to obtain financing and adversely affect our business or financial results.

The mortgage loans originated by our financial services operations are primarily eligible for sale to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae and are typically sold to third-party purchasers. The secondary market for mortgage loans continues to primarily desire securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, and we believe the liquidity these agencies provide to the mortgage industry is important to the housing market. Any significant change regarding the long-term structure and viability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could result in adjustments to the size of their loan portfolios and to guidelines for their loan products. Additionally, a reduction in the availability of financing provided by these institutions could adversely affect interest rates, mortgage availability and sales of new homes and mortgage loans. During fiscal 2021, approximately 52% of our mortgage loans were sold directly to Fannie Mae or into securities backed by Ginnie Mae, and 41% were sold to two other major financial entities. On an ongoing basis, we seek to establish loan purchase arrangements with additional financial entities. If we are unable to sell mortgage loans to purchasers on attractive terms, our ability to originate and sell mortgage loans at competitive prices could be limited, which would negatively affect our profitability.

The FHA insures mortgage loans that generally have lower credit requirements and is an important source for financing the sale of our homes. Changes, restrictions or significant premium increases in FHA programs in the future may negatively affect the availability or affordability of FHA financing, which could adversely affect our ability to sell homes.

Some of our customers may qualify for 100% financing through programs offered by the VA and the USDA and certain other housing finance agencies. These programs are subject to changes in regulations, lending standards and government funding levels. There can be no assurances that these programs or other programs will continue to be available in our homebuilding markets or that they will be as attractive to our customers as the programs currently offered, which could negatively affect our sales.

Mortgage rates are currently low compared to most historical periods; however, market conditions could change causing mortgage rates to rise in the future. When interest rates increase, the cost of owning a home increases, which will likely reduce the number of potential homebuyers who can obtain mortgage financing and could result in a decline in the demand for our homes.

The risks associated with our land, lot and rental inventory could adversely affect our business or financial results.

Inventory risks are substantial for our homebuilding, Forestar and rental businesses. There are risks inherent in controlling, owning and developing land. If housing demand declines, we may not be able to build, sell and rent homes profitably in some of our communities, and we may not be able to fully recover the costs of some of the land and lots we own. Also, the values of our owned undeveloped land, lots and inventories may fluctuate significantly due to changes in market conditions. As a result, our deposits for lots controlled through purchase contracts may be put at risk, we may have to sell or rent homes or land for a lower profit margin or record inventory impairment charges on our land and lots. A significant deterioration in economic or homebuilding industry conditions may result in substantial inventory impairment charges.

We cannot make any assurances that our growth strategies, acquisitions or investments will be successful or will not expose us to additional risks or other negative consequences.

In recent years, we have primarily grown our business by increasing our investments in land, lot and home inventories in our existing homebuilding markets. We have also expanded through investments in new product offerings, new geographic markets and the growth of our rental property operations. Investments in land, lots, home inventories and rental properties can expose us to risks of economic loss and asset impairments if housing conditions weaken or if we are unsuccessful in implementing our growth strategies.

In fiscal 2018, we acquired 75% of the outstanding shares of Forestar and at September 30, 2021, we owned 63% of its outstanding shares. Forestar is a publicly traded residential lot development company with operations in 56 markets across 23 states as of September 30, 2021. Forestar’s strategy is focused on making significant investments in land acquisition and development to expand its residential lot development business across a geographically diversified national platform and consolidating market share in the fragmented U.S. lot development industry. Our homebuilding divisions acquire finished lots from Forestar in accordance with the master supply agreement between the two companies, and we provide Forestar certain administrative, compliance, operational and procurement services through a shared services agreement. As the controlling shareholder, we strongly influence the strategic direction and operations of Forestar.

In addition to the investment and merger with Forestar, we have acquired the homebuilding operations of several homebuilding companies in recent years, and we may make strategic acquisitions of or investments in other companies, operations or assets in the future. Such acquisitions and investments may have risks similar to those related to land, lots and home inventories, but they may also expose us to additional risks or other negative consequences. These transactions may not advance our business strategy, provide a satisfactory return on our investment or provide other benefits we anticipate. Also, the integration of these transactions may not be successful and may require significant time and resources, which may divert management’s attention from other operations. Acquisitions and investments could also expose us to material liabilities not discovered in the due diligence process and may lead to litigation. If these transactions under-perform our expectations or are unsuccessful, we may incur significant expenses or write-offs of inventory, other assets or intangible assets such as goodwill. Acquisitions and investments can result in dilution to existing stockholders if we issue our common stock as consideration and can increase our debt levels or reduce our liquidity if we purchase them with cash. The magnitude, timing and nature of any future acquisitions or investments will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to identify suitable additional markets or acquisition candidates, the negotiation of acceptable terms, our financial position and general economic and business conditions. We also may seek to divest an investment or a business and may have difficulty selling such investment or business on acceptable terms in a timely manner.

Our business and financial results could be adversely affected by significant inflation, higher interest rates or deflation.

Inflation can adversely affect us by increasing costs of land, materials and labor. In addition, significant inflation is often accompanied by higher interest rates, which have a negative impact on housing affordability. In a highly inflationary environment, depending on industry and other economic conditions, we may be precluded from raising home prices enough to keep up with the rate of inflation, which could reduce our profit margins. Moreover, in a highly inflationary environment, our cost of capital, labor and materials can increase and the purchasing power of our cash resources can decline, which could have an adverse impact on our business or financial results.

Alternatively, a significant period of deflation could cause a decrease in overall spending and borrowing levels. This could lead to deterioration in economic conditions, including an increase in the rate of unemployment. Deflation could also cause the value of our inventories to decline or reduce the value of existing homes below the related mortgage loan balance, which could potentially increase the supply of existing homes. If oil prices decline significantly, economic conditions in markets that have significant exposure to the energy sector may weaken. These, or other factors that increase the risk of significant deflation, could have a negative impact on our business or financial results.

Supply shortages and other risks related to acquiring land, building materials and skilled labor could increase our costs and delay deliveries.

The homebuilding and lot development industries have from time to time experienced significant difficulties that can affect the cost or timing of construction, including:

• difficulty in acquiring land suitable for residential building at affordable prices in locations where our potential customers want to live;

• shortages of qualified subcontractors;

• reliance on local subcontractors, manufacturers, distributors and land developers who may be inadequately capitalized;

• shortages of materials; and

• significant increases in the cost of materials, particularly increases in the price of lumber, drywall and cement, which are significant components of home construction costs.

In addition, tariffs, duties and/or trade restrictions imposed or increased on imported materials and goods that are used in connection with the construction and delivery of our homes, including steel, aluminum and lumber, may raise our costs for these items or for the products made with them. These factors may cause construction delays or cause us to incur more costs building our homes.

As restrictive orders relating to COVID-19 were eased and economic activity resumed, demand for our homes increased significantly. The effects of the pandemic combined with the improvement in economic conditions and the strong demand for new homes caused multiple disruptions in our supply chain, and have resulted in shortages in certain building materials and tightness in the labor market, which has caused our construction cycle to lengthen and costs of building materials to increase. If shortages and cost increases in building materials and tightness in the labor market persist for a prolonged period of time, our profit margins could be adversely impacted if we are unable to pass on future cost increases to our homebuyers by increasing the selling price of our homes.

Public health issues such as a major epidemic or pandemic could adversely affect our business or financial results.

The U.S. and other countries have experienced, and may experience in the future, outbreaks of contagious diseases that affect public health and public perception of health risk. In December 2019, COVID-19 emerged in the Wuhan region of China and subsequently spread worldwide. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, resulting in federal, state and local governments and private entities mandating various restrictions requiring closure of non-essential businesses for a period of time, which began to adversely affect our business in March 2020. As economic activity resumed and restrictive orders relating to COVID-19 were eased, demand for our homes improved significantly during the remainder of fiscal 2020 and remained strong throughout fiscal 2021. However, the effects of the pandemic combined with the improvement in economic conditions and the strong demand for new homes caused multiple disruptions in our supply chain and have resulted in shortages in certain building materials and tightness in the labor market, which has caused our construction cycle to lengthen.

There is uncertainty regarding the extent to which and how long COVID-19 will impact the U.S. economy and our supply chain. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of COVID-19 or other variant strains and the impact on our customers, trade partners and employees, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If COVID-19 or other variant strains have a significant negative impact on economic conditions over a prolonged period of time, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted.

Our business and financial results could be adversely affected by weather conditions and natural disasters.

Physical risks, including weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic activity, droughts, floods, hailstorms, heavy or prolonged precipitation, wildfires and others, can harm our business. Additionally, the physical impacts of climate change may cause these occurrences to increase in frequency, severity and duration. Any such events can delay our development work, home construction and home closings, unfavorably affect the cost or availability of materials or labor, damage homes under construction, lead to changing consumer preferences and/or negatively impact demand for new homes in affected areas. There has been no material impact on our business from these events or material operational challenges resulting from these events, but they could adversely affect our business in the future. The climates and geology of many of the states in which we operate, including California, Florida, Texas and other coastal areas where we have some of our larger operations and which have experienced recent natural disasters, present increased risks of adverse weather or natural disasters.

Homebuilding is subject to home warranty and construction defect claims in the ordinary course of business that can be significant.

We are subject to home warranty and construction defect claims arising in the ordinary course of our homebuilding business. We rely on subcontractors to perform the actual construction of our homes, and in many cases, to select and obtain construction materials. Despite our detailed specifications and monitoring of the construction process, our subcontractors occasionally do not meet adequate quality standards in the construction of our homes. When we find these issues, we repair them in accordance with our warranty obligations. We spend significant resources to repair items in homes we have sold to fulfill the warranties we issued to our homebuyers. Additionally, we are subject to construction defect claims which can be costly to defend and resolve in the legal system. Warranty and construction defect matters can also result in negative publicity in the media and on the internet, which can damage our reputation and adversely affect our ability to sell homes.

Based on the large number of homes we have sold over the years, our potential liabilities related to warranty and construction defect claims are significant. Consequently, we have generally maintained product liability insurance each year, and we seek to obtain indemnities and certificates of insurance from subcontractors covering claims related to their workmanship and materials. We establish warranty and other reserves for the homes we sell based on historical experience in our markets and our judgment of the qualitative risks associated with the types of homes built. Because of the uncertainties inherent to these matters, we cannot provide assurance that our insurance coverage, our subcontractor arrangements and our reserves will be adequate to address all of our future warranty and construction defect claims. Contractual indemnities can be difficult to enforce, we may be responsible for applicable self-insured retentions and some types of claims may not be covered by insurance or may exceed applicable coverage limits. Additionally, the coverage offered by and the availability of product liability insurance for construction defects is limited and costly. We have responded to increases in insurance costs and coverage limitations by self-insuring our risk for certain years and by increasing our self-insured retentions and claim reserves. There can be no assurance that coverage will not be further restricted or become more costly. If costs to resolve our future warranty and construction defect claims exceed our estimates, our financial results and liquidity could be adversely affected.

A health and safety incident relating to our operations could be costly in terms of potential liability and reputational damage.

Building and land development sites are inherently dangerous, and operating in this industry poses certain inherent health and safety risks. Due to health and safety regulatory requirements and the number of homes we construct, health and safety performance is critical to the success of our business. Any failure in health and safety performance, including compliance with potential new workplace requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in penalties for non-compliance with relevant regulatory requirements, and a failure that results in a major or significant health and safety incident is likely to be costly and could expose us to liability that could be costly. Such an incident could generate significant negative publicity and have a corresponding impact on our reputation, our relationships with relevant regulatory agencies or governmental authorities, and our ability to attract customers and employees, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and liquidity.

We are required to obtain performance bonds, the unavailability of which could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.

We often are required to provide surety bonds to secure our performance or obligations under construction contracts, development agreements and other arrangements. At September 30, 2021, we had $2.3 billion of outstanding surety bonds. Our ability to obtain surety bonds primarily depends upon our credit rating, financial condition, past performance and other factors, including the capacity of the surety market and the underwriting practices of surety bond issuers. The ability to obtain surety bonds also can be impacted by the willingness of insurance companies to issue performance bonds for construction and development activities. If we are unable to obtain surety bonds when required, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

Increases in the costs of owning a home could prevent potential customers from buying our homes and adversely affect our business or financial results.

Significant expenses of owning a home, including mortgage loan interest and state and local income and property taxes, have historically been deductible expenses for an individual’s federal income taxes, subject to various limitations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which became effective January 1, 2018, established new limits on these federal tax deductions that could reduce the actual or perceived affordability of homeownership. These or any further changes in income tax laws by the federal or state government to eliminate or substantially reduce income tax benefits associated with homeownership, could adversely affect demand for and sales prices of new homes, especially in areas with relatively high housing prices or high taxes.

In addition, increases in property tax rates by local governmental authorities, as experienced in some areas in response to reduced federal and state funding, could adversely affect the amount of financing our potential customers could obtain or their desire to purchase new homes.

Further, existing and prospective regulatory and societal responses to climate change intended to reduce potential climate change impacts may increase the upfront costs of purchasing a home, costs to maintain the home and its systems, energy and utility costs and the cost to obtain homeowner and various hazard and flood insurance, or limit homeowners’ ability to obtain these insurance policies altogether. Although these items have had no material effect on our business, they could adversely affect our business in the future.

Governmental regulations and environmental matters could increase the cost and limit the availability of our land development and homebuilding projects and adversely affect our business or financial results.

We are subject to extensive and complex regulations that affect land development and home construction, including zoning, density restrictions, building design and building standards. These regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities as to the conditions we must meet prior to development or construction being approved, if approved at all. We are subject to determinations by these authorities as to the adequacy of water or sewage facilities, roads or other local services. New housing developments may also be subject to various assessments for schools, parks, streets and other public improvements. In addition, in many markets government authorities have implemented no growth or growth control initiatives. Any of these may limit, delay or increase the costs of development or home construction.

We are also subject to a significant number and variety of local, state and federal laws and regulations concerning protection of health, safety, labor standards and the environment. The impact of environmental laws varies depending upon the prior uses of the building site or adjoining properties and may be greater in areas with less supply where undeveloped land or desirable alternatives are less available. These matters may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance, remediation, mitigation and other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity in environmentally sensitive regions or areas. Government agencies also routinely initiate audits, reviews or investigations of our business practices to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, which can cause us to incur costs or create other disruptions in our business that can be significant.

Recently, there has been growing concern from advocacy groups, government agencies and the general public over the effects of climate change on the environment. Transition risks, such as government restrictions, standards or regulations intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potential climate change impacts, are emerging and may increase in the future in the form of restrictions or additional requirements on land development and home construction in certain areas. Such restrictions and requirements could increase our operating and compliance costs or require additional technology and capital investment, which could adversely affect our results of operations. This is a particular concern in the western United States, where some of the most extensive and stringent environmental laws and residential building construction standards in the country have been enacted, and where we have business operations. We believe we are in compliance in all material respects with existing climate-related government restrictions, standards and regulations applicable to our business, and such compliance has not had a material impact on our business. However, given the rapidly changing nature of environmental laws and matters that may arise that are not currently known, we cannot predict our future exposure concerning such matters, and our future costs to achieve compliance or remedy potential violations could be significant.

Additionally, actual or perceived environmental, social, governance and other sustainability (ESG) matters and our response to these matters could harm our business. Increasing governmental and societal attention to ESG matters, including expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure on topics such as climate change, human capital, labor and risk oversight, could expand the nature, scope, and complexity of matters that we are required to control, assess and report. These factors may alter the environment in which we do business and may increase the ongoing costs of compliance and adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows. If we are unable to adequately address such ESG matters or fail to comply with all laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations, it could negatively impact our reputation and our business results.

The subcontractors we rely on to perform the actual construction of our homes are also subject to a significant number of local, state and federal laws and regulations, including laws involving matters that are not within our control. If the subcontractors who construct our homes fail to comply with all applicable laws, we can suffer reputational damage, and may be exposed to possible liability.

We are also subject to an extensive number of laws and regulations because our common stock and debt securities and the common stock of our Forestar subsidiary are publicly traded in the capital markets. These regulations govern our communications with our shareholders and the capital markets, our financial statement disclosures and our legal

processes, and they also impact the work required to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm and our legal counsel. Changes in these laws and regulations, including the subsequent implementation of rules by the administering government authorities, may require us to incur additional compliance costs, and such costs may be significant.

Governmental regulation of our financial services operations could adversely affect our business or financial results.

Our financial services operations are subject to extensive state and federal laws and regulations, which are administered by numerous agencies, including but not limited to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. These laws and regulations include many compliance requirements, including but not limited to licensing, consumer disclosures, fair lending and real estate settlement procedures. As a result, our operations are subject to regular, extensive examinations by the applicable agencies. Additional future regulations or changing rule interpretations and examinations by regulatory agencies may result in more stringent compliance standards and could adversely affect the results of our operations.

We operate in competitive industries, and competitive conditions could adversely affect our business or financial results.

The homebuilding, lot development and rental housing industries are highly competitive. We compete not only for homebuyers and renters, but also for desirable properties, raw materials, skilled labor and financing. We compete with local, regional and national companies in these industries, and also with existing home sales, foreclosures and rental properties. The competitive conditions in these industries can negatively affect our sales volumes, selling prices, leased occupancy levels, rental rates and incentive levels, reduce our profit margins, and cause the value of our inventory or other assets to be impaired. Competition can also affect our ability to acquire suitable land, raw materials and skilled labor at acceptable prices or terms, or cause delays in land development or in construction.

The competitors to our financial services businesses include other mortgage lenders and title companies, including national, regional and local mortgage banks and other financial institutions. Some of these competitors are subject to fewer governmental regulations and have greater access to capital than we do, may operate with different lending criteria and/or may offer a broader or more attractive array of financing and other products and services to potential customers.

Our businesses compete with other companies across all industries to attract and retain highly skilled and experienced employees, managers and executives. Competition for the services of these individuals increases as business conditions improve in the homebuilding, lot development, financial services and rental housing industries and in the general economy. If we are unable to attract and retain key employees, managers or executives, our business could be adversely affected.

Risks Related to our Indebtedness

We have significant amounts of debt and may incur additional debt, which could affect our financial health and our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or potential acquisitions.

As of September 30, 2021, our consolidated debt was $5.4 billion, which consisted of $3.2 billion related to our homebuilding segment, $704.5 million related to our Forestar segment and $1.5 billion related to our financial services segment. The indentures governing our homebuilding senior notes do not restrict the incurrence of future unsecured debt by us or our homebuilding subsidiaries or the incurrence of secured or unsecured debt by our non-guarantor subsidiaries, and the agreement governing our homebuilding revolving credit facility allows us to incur a substantial amount of future unsecured debt. Also, the indentures governing our homebuilding senior notes and the agreement governing our homebuilding revolving credit facility impose restrictions on our ability and on that of the guarantors under our homebuilding senior notes and our homebuilding revolving credit facility to incur debt secured by certain assets, but still permit us and our homebuilding subsidiaries to incur significant amounts of additional secured debt. The Forestar revolving credit facility and the indentures governing Forestar’s senior notes impose restrictions on the ability of Forestar and its restricted subsidiaries to incur secured and unsecured debt, but still permit Forestar and its subsidiaries to incur a substantial amount of future secured and unsecured debt, and do not restrict the incurrence of future secured and unsecured debt by Forestar’s unrestricted subsidiaries.

The amount and the maturities of our debt and the debt of our subsidiaries could have important consequences. For example, possible consequences for our homebuilding, financial services and Forestar operations each with respect to their individual debt obligations, could:

• require the dedication of a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to payment of debt and reduce the ability to use cash flow for other operating or investing purposes;

• limit the flexibility to adjust to changes in business or economic conditions; and

• limit the ability to obtain future financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements or other requirements.

Servicing our debt requires a significant amount of cash, and we or our subsidiaries may not have sufficient cash flow from our respective businesses to pay our substantial debt.

Our ability and that of our subsidiaries to meet our respective debt service obligations will depend, in part, upon our and our subsidiaries’ future financial performance. Future results are subject to the risks and uncertainties described in this report. Our revenues and earnings vary with the level of general economic activity in the markets we serve. Our businesses are also affected by financial, political, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The factors that affect our ability to generate cash can also affect our ability to raise additional funds for these purposes through the sale of debt or equity, the refinancing of debt or the sale of assets. Changes in prevailing interest rates may affect the cost of our debt service obligations, because borrowings under our revolving credit facilities and mortgage repurchase facility bear interest at floating rates.

The instruments governing our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness impose certain restrictions on our and our subsidiaries’ business, and the ability of us and our subsidiaries to comply with related covenants, restrictions or limitations could adversely affect our and our subsidiaries’ financial condition or operating flexibility.

The restrictions imposed by our and certain of our subsidiaries’ indebtedness could limit our or our subsidiaries’ ability to plan for or react to market or economic conditions or meet capital needs or otherwise restrict our activities or business plans and adversely affect our or our subsidiaries’ ability to finance our operations, acquisitions, investments or strategic alliances or other capital needs or to engage in other business activities that would be in our interest.

The agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on our and our guarantor subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, engage in sale and leaseback transactions with respect to certain assets, incur secured debt, create liens, pay dividends and make other distributions on or redeem or repurchase equity securities, sell certain assets and engage in mergers, consolidations or sales of all or substantially all of our assets. The instruments governing Forestar’s indebtedness contain restrictions on the ability of Forestar and certain of its subsidiaries to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, create liens, pay dividends and make other distributions on or redeem or repurchase equity securities, sell certain assets, enter into affiliate transactions and engage in mergers, consolidations or sales of all or substantially all of Forestar’s assets.

In addition, the agreements governing certain of our and our subsidiaries’ debt instruments contain the following financial covenants:

Homebuilding revolving credit facility. Our homebuilding revolving credit facility contains financial covenants requiring the maintenance of a maximum allowable leverage ratio and a borrowing base restriction if our leverage ratio exceeds a certain level. A failure to comply with these financial covenants could allow the lending banks to terminate the availability of funds under the revolving credit facility or cause any outstanding borrowings to become due and payable prior to maturity.

Forestar’s revolving credit facility. The Forestar revolving credit facility contains financial covenants requiring the maintenance by Forestar of a minimum level of tangible net worth, a minimum level of liquidity, a maximum allowable leverage ratio and a borrowing base restriction based on the book value of Forestar’s real estate assets and unrestricted cash. A failure to comply with these financial covenants could allow the lending banks to terminate the availability of funds under this revolving credit facility or cause any outstanding borrowings to become due and payable prior to maturity.

Mortgage repurchase facility and other restrictions. The mortgage repurchase facility for our mortgage subsidiary requires the maintenance of a minimum level of tangible net worth, a maximum allowable leverage ratio and a minimum level of liquidity by our mortgage subsidiary. A failure to comply with these requirements could allow the lending banks to terminate the availability of funds to our mortgage subsidiary or cause any outstanding borrowings to become due and payable prior to maturity. Any difficulty experienced in complying with these covenants could make the renewal of the facility more difficult or costly.

In addition, although our financial services business is conducted through subsidiaries that are not restricted by the indentures governing our senior notes or the agreement governing our revolving credit facility, the ability of our financial services subsidiaries to distribute funds to our homebuilding operations would be restricted in the event such distribution would cause an event of default under the mortgage repurchase facility or if an event of default had occurred under this facility. Moreover, our right to receive assets from our financial services subsidiaries upon their liquidation or recapitalization is subject to the prior claims of the creditors of these subsidiaries. Any claims we may have to funds from our financial services subsidiaries would be subordinate to subsidiary indebtedness to the extent of any security for such indebtedness and to any indebtedness otherwise recognized as senior to our claims.

Our access to capital and our ability to obtain additional financing could be affected by any downgrade of our debt ratings.

Our homebuilding senior unsecured debt is currently rated investment grade by all three major rating agencies; however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain these ratings. Any lowering of our debt ratings could make accessing the public capital markets or obtaining additional credit from banks more difficult and/or more expensive. Any lowering of Forestar’s debt ratings could also make Forestar’s ability to access the public capital markets or obtain additional credit from banks more difficult and/or more expensive.

The instruments governing our indebtedness contain change of control provisions which could affect the timing of repayment.

Change of control purchase options under our homebuilding senior notes and change of control default under our homebuilding revolving credit facility. Upon the occurrence of both a change of control and a ratings downgrade event, each as defined in the indentures governing our homebuilding senior notes, we will be required to offer to repurchase such notes at 101% of their principal amount, together with all accrued and unpaid interest, if any. Moreover, a change of control (as defined in our homebuilding revolving credit facility) would constitute an event of default under our homebuilding revolving credit facility, which could result in the acceleration of the repayment of any borrowings outstanding under the facility, a requirement to cash collateralize all letters of credit outstanding thereunder and the termination of the commitments thereunder. If repayment of more than $50 million outstanding under our homebuilding revolving credit facility were accelerated and such acceleration were not rescinded or such indebtedness were not satisfied, in either case within 30 days, an event of default would result under the indentures governing our homebuilding senior notes, entitling the trustee for the notes or holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the relevant series of notes then outstanding to declare all such notes to be due and payable immediately. If purchase offers were required under the indentures for our homebuilding senior notes, repayment of the borrowings under our homebuilding revolving credit facility were required, or if the senior notes were accelerated, we can give no assurance that we would have sufficient funds to pay the required amounts.

Change of control purchase option under Forestar’s notes and change of control default under the Forestar revolving credit facility. Upon the occurrence of a change of control triggering event (as defined in the indentures governing Forestar’s notes), Forestar will be required to offer to repurchase Forestar’s notes at 101% of their principal amount, together with all accrued and unpaid interest, if any. A change of control (as defined in the Forestar revolving credit facility) with respect to Forestar would constitute an event of default under the Forestar revolving credit facility, which could result in the acceleration of the repayment of any borrowings outstanding under the facility, a requirement to cash collateralize all letters of credit outstanding thereunder and the termination of the commitments thereunder. If the maturity of the Forestar revolving credit facility and/or other indebtedness of Forestar and its restricted subsidiaries together having an aggregate principal amount outstanding of $40 million or more is accelerated, an event of default would result under the indentures governing the Forestar notes, entitling the trustee for the Forestar notes or holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Forestar notes to declare all such Forestar notes to be due and payable immediately. If purchase offers were required under the indentures for Forestar’s notes, repayment of the borrowings under Forestar’s revolving credit facility were required, or if Forestar’s notes were accelerated, we can give no assurance that Forestar would have sufficient funds to pay the required amounts.

General Risk Factors

Damage to our corporate reputation or brands from negative publicity could adversely affect our business, financial results and/or stock price.

Adverse publicity related to our company, industry, personnel, operations or business performance may cause damage to our corporate reputation or brands and may generate negative sentiment, potentially affecting the performance of our business or our stock price, regardless of its accuracy or inaccuracy. Our reputation could be adversely affected by actual or perceived failures or concerns related to ethics, compliance, product quality and safety, environmental matters, privacy, diversity and inclusion, human rights, compensation and benefits and corporate governance, among other things. Negative publicity can be disseminated rapidly through digital platforms, including social media, websites, blogs and newsletters. Customers and other interested parties value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction, and our success in preserving our brand image depends on our ability to recognize, respond to and effectively manage negative publicity in a rapidly changing environment. Adverse publicity or unfavorable commentary from any source could damage our reputation, reduce the demand for our homes or negatively impact the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our business.

Our business could be adversely affected by the loss of key personnel.

We rely on our key personnel to effectively operate and manage our businesses. Specifically, our success depends heavily on the performance of our homebuilding division and region presidents and their management teams, our rental housing management team, our financial services management team, our corporate office management teams, our Forestar management team and our executive officers. These key personnel have significant experience and skills in the homebuilding, lot development, financial services and rental housing industries, as well as leadership and management abilities that are vital to our success. Our ability to attract and retain our key personnel may be impacted by matters involving reputation, culture, diversity and inclusion, compensation and benefits and our management of executive succession. We seek to retain our key personnel and to have succession plans in place to address the potential loss of key personnel. However, if our retention and succession planning efforts are unsuccessful or if we fail to attract suitable replacements, the loss of key personnel could adversely affect our business.

Our business could be negatively impacted as a result of actions by activist stockholders or others.

We may be subject to actions or proposals from activist stockholders or others that may not align with our business strategies or the interests of our other stockholders. Responding to such actions could be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our business and operations and/or divert the attention of our Board of Directors and senior management from the pursuit of our business strategies. Activist stockholders may create perceived uncertainties as to the future direction of our business or strategy, including with respect to our ESG efforts, which may be exploited by our competitors and may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel, potential homebuyers and business partners and may affect our relationships with current homebuyers, subcontractors, investors and other third parties. In addition, actions of activist stockholders may cause periods of fluctuation in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.

Information technology failures, data security breaches, and the failure to satisfy privacy and data protection laws and regulations could harm our business.

We use information technology and other computer resources to carry out important operational and marketing activities and to maintain our business records. These information technology systems are dependent upon global communications providers, web browsers, third-party software and data storage providers and other aspects of the Internet infrastructure that have experienced security breaches, cyber-attacks, ransomware attacks, significant systems failures and service outages in the past. Our normal business activities involve collecting and storing information specific to our homebuyers, renters, employees, vendors and suppliers and maintaining operational and financial information related to our business, both in an office setting and remote locations as needed. A material breach in the security of our information technology systems or other data security controls could include the theft or release of this information. A data security breach, a significant and extended disruption in the functioning of our information technology systems or a breach of any of our data security controls could disrupt our business operations, damage our reputation and cause us to

lose customers, adversely impact our sales and revenue and require us to incur significant expense to address and remediate or otherwise resolve these kinds of issues. The unintended or unauthorized disclosure of personal identifying and confidential information as a result of a security breach could also lead to litigation or other proceedings against us by the affected individuals or business partners, or by regulators. The outcome of such proceedings, which could include penalties or fines, could have a significant negative impact on our business.

We may also be required to incur significant costs to protect against damages caused by information technology failures, security breaches, and the failure to satisfy privacy and data protection laws and regulations in the future as legal requirements continue to increase. The European Union and other international regulators, as well as state governments, have recently enacted or enhanced data privacy regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, and other governments are considering establishing similar or stronger protections. These regulations impose certain obligations for handling specified personal information in our systems, and for apprising individuals of the information we have collected about them. We have incurred costs in an effort to comply with these requirements, and our costs may increase significantly if new requirements are enacted and based on how individuals exercise their rights. Any noncompliance could result in our incurring substantial penalties and reputational damage, and also could result in litigation.

We provide employee awareness training of cybersecurity threats and routinely utilize information technology security experts to assist us in our evaluations of the effectiveness of the security of our information technology systems, and we regularly enhance our security measures to protect our systems and data. Our increased use of remote work environments and virtual platforms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may also increase our risk of cyber-attack or data security breaches. We use various encryption, tokenization and authentication technologies to mitigate cybersecurity risks and have increased our monitoring capabilities to enhance early detection and rapid response to potential cyber threats. However, because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade systems change frequently and are increasing in sophistication, they often are not recognized until launched against a target. As such, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques, to implement adequate preventative measures or to identify and investigate cybersecurity incidents. Consequently, we cannot provide assurances that a security breach, cyber-attack, data theft or other significant systems or security failures will not occur in the future, and such occurrences could have a material and adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.

None.

Our homebuilding and lot development operations own inventories of land, lots and homes, and our rental operations own rental properties that are both completed and under construction as part of the ordinary course of our business. We also own office buildings totaling approximately 1.3 million square feet, and we lease approximately 530,000 square feet of office space under leases expiring through November 2026. These properties are located in our various operating markets to house our homebuilding, Forestar, financial services and rental operating divisions and our regional and corporate offices.

We own ranch land and improvements totaling 93,600 acres, most of which has been owned for over 20 years. We use this land to conduct ranching and agricultural activities and to host company meetings and events.

We are involved in lawsuits and other contingencies in the ordinary course of business. While the outcome of such contingencies cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the liabilities arising from these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, to the extent the liability arising from the ultimate resolution of any matter exceeds our estimates reflected in the recorded reserves relating to such matter, we could incur additional charges that could be significant.

With respect to administrative or judicial proceedings involving the environment, we have determined that we will disclose any such proceeding if we reasonably believe such proceeding will result in monetary sanctions, exclusive of interest and costs, at or in excess of $1 million.

Not applicable.

PART II

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “DHI.” As of November 11, 2021, the closing price of our common stock on the NYSE was $96.36, and there were approximately 284 holders of record.

In October 2021, our Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.225 per common share, payable on December 15, 2021, to stockholders of record on December 6, 2021. The declaration of future cash dividends is at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our future earnings, cash flows, capital requirements, financial condition and general business conditions.

We may repurchase shares of our common stock from time to time pursuant to our $1.0 billion common stock repurchase authorization, which was approved by our Board of Directors effective April 20, 2021, and which replaced our prior $1.0 billion common stock repurchase authorization. The authorization has no expiration date. During fiscal 2021, we purchased 10.4 million shares of our common stock for $874.0 million. All share repurchases were made in accordance with the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act). At September 30, 2021, our remaining stock repurchase authorization was $546.2 million. The following table sets forth information concerning our common stock repurchases during the three months ended September 30, 2021.

During fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, we did not sell any equity securities that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act).

The information required by this item with respect to equity compensation plans is set forth under Item 12 of this annual report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph illustrates the cumulative total stockholder return on D.R. Horton common stock for the last five fiscal years through September 30, 2021, compared to the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 1500 Homebuilding Index. The comparison assumes a hypothetical investment in D.R. Horton common stock and in each of the foregoing indices of $100 at September 30, 2016 and assumes that all dividends were reinvested. Shareholder returns over the indicated period are based on historical data and should not be considered indicative of future shareholder returns. The graph and related disclosure in no way reflect our forecast of future financial performance.

This performance graph shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into our SEC filings and should not constitute soliciting material or otherwise be considered filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote an understanding of our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and certain other factors that may affect future results. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements that appear elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This section generally discusses the results of operations for fiscal 2021 compared to 2020. For similar operating and financial data and discussion of our fiscal 2020 results compared to our fiscal 2019 results, refer to Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under Part II of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on November 20, 2020.

The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to any differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the caption “Forward-Looking Statements” and under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

Results of Operations — Overview

Fiscal 2021 Operating Results

In fiscal 2021, our number of homes closed and home sales revenues increased 25% and 35%, respectively, compared to the prior year, and our consolidated revenues increased 37% to $27.8 billion compared to $20.3 billion in the prior year. Our pre-tax income was $5.4 billion in fiscal 2021 compared to $3.0 billion in fiscal 2020, and our pre-tax operating margin was 19.3% compared to 14.7%. Net income was $4.2 billion in fiscal 2021 compared to $2.4 billion in fiscal 2020, and our diluted earnings per share was $11.41 compared to $6.41.

Cash provided by our homebuilding operations was $1.2 billion in fiscal 2021 compared to $1.9 billion in fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2021, our return on equity (ROE) was 31.6% compared to 22.1% in fiscal 2020, and our homebuilding return on inventory (ROI) was 37.9% compared to 24.6%. ROE is calculated as net income attributable to D.R. Horton for the year divided by average stockholders’ equity, where average stockholders’ equity is the sum of ending stockholders’ equity balances of the trailing five quarters divided by five. Homebuilding ROI is calculated as homebuilding pre-tax income for the year divided by average inventory, where average inventory is the sum of ending homebuilding inventory balances for the trailing five quarters divided by five.

During March 2020, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related widespread reductions in economic activity across the United States began to adversely affect our business. As economic activity resumed and restrictive orders relating to COVID-19 were eased, demand for our homes improved significantly during the remainder of fiscal 2020 and remained strong throughout fiscal 2021. We believe the increase in demand has been fueled by historically low interest rates on mortgage loans and the limited supply of homes at affordable price points across most of our markets. We are well-positioned for increased demand with our affordable product offerings, lot supply and housing inventory. However, multiple disruptions in the supply chain, combined with the improvement in economic conditions and strong demand for new homes, have resulted in shortages in certain building materials and tightness in the labor market, which has caused our construction cycle to lengthen. We have slowed our home sales pace to more closely align with our production levels, and we are selling homes later in the construction cycle when we have more certainty regarding the home close date for our homebuyers. Based on the current availability of labor and materials, the stage of completion of our current homes in inventory, production schedules and capacity, we expect to continue restricting the pace of our sales orders in many of our communities in the near term to match our production levels.

Within our homebuilding land and lot portfolio, our lots controlled through purchase contracts represent 76% of the lots owned and controlled at September 30, 2021 compared to 70% at September 30, 2020. Our relationship with Forestar and expanded relationships with other land developers across the country have allowed us to continue to increase the controlled portion of our lot pipeline.

We believe our strong balance sheet and liquidity position provide us with the flexibility to operate effectively through changing economic conditions. We plan to continue to generate strong cash flows from our homebuilding operations and manage our product offerings, incentives, home pricing, sales pace and inventory levels to optimize the return on our inventory investments in each of our communities based on local housing market conditions.

Strategy

Our operating strategy focuses on enhancing long-term value to our shareholders by leveraging our financial and competitive position in our core homebuilding business to maximize the returns on our inventory investments and generate strong profitability and cash flows, while managing risk and maintaining financial flexibility to navigate changing economic conditions and make opportunistic strategic investments. Our strategy remains consistent and includes the following initiatives:

• Developing and retaining highly experienced and productive teams of personnel throughout our company that are aligned and focused on continuous improvement in our operational execution and financial performance.

• Maintaining a strong cash balance and overall liquidity position and controlling our level of debt.

• Allocating and actively managing our inventory investments across our operating markets to diversify our geographic risk.

• Offering new home communities that appeal to a broad range of entry-level, move-up, active adult and luxury homebuyers based on consumer demand in each market.

• Modifying product offerings, sales pace, home prices and sales incentives as necessary in each of our markets to meet consumer demand and maintain affordability.

• Delivering high quality homes and a positive experience to our customers both during and after the sale.

• Managing our inventory of homes under construction relative to demand in each of our markets, including starting construction on unsold homes to capture new home demand and actively controlling the number of unsold, completed homes in inventory.

• Investing in land and land development in desirable markets, while controlling the level of land and lots we own in each market relative to the local new home demand.

• Continuing to seek opportunities to expand the portion of our land and finished lots controlled through purchase contracts with Forestar and other land developers.

• Controlling the cost of goods purchased from both vendors and subcontractors.

• Improving the efficiency of our land development, construction, sales and other key operational activities.

• Controlling our selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense infrastructure to match production levels.

• Opportunistically evaluating potential acquisitions to enhance our operations and improve returns.

• Ensuring that our financial services business provides high quality mortgage and title services to homebuyers efficiently and effectively.

• Increasing our investments in the construction and leasing of single-family and multi-family rental properties to meet rental demand in high growth suburban markets and selling these properties profitably.

We believe our operating strategy, which has produced positive results in recent years, will allow us to successfully operate through changing economic conditions to maintain and improve our financial and competitive position. However, we cannot provide any assurances that th

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We are subject to interest rate risk on our long-term debt. We monitor our exposure to changes in interest rates and utilize both fixed and variable rate debt. For fixed rate debt, changes in interest rates generally affect the fair value of the debt instrument, but not our earnings or cash flows. Conversely, for variable rate debt, changes in interest rates generally do not impact the fair value of the debt instrument, but may affect our future earnings and cash flows. Except in very limited circumstances, we do not have an obligation to prepay fixed-rate debt prior to maturity and, as a result, interest rate risk and changes in fair value would not have a significant impact on our cash flows related to our fixed-rate debt until such time as we are required to refinance, repurchase or repay such debt.

We are exposed to interest rate risk associated with our mortgage loan origination services. We manage interest rate risk through the use of forward sales of MBS, which are referred to as “hedging instruments” in the following discussion. We do not enter into or hold derivatives for trading or speculative purposes.

Interest rate lock commitments (IRLCs) are extended to borrowers who have applied for loan funding and who meet defined credit and underwriting criteria. Typically, the IRLCs have a duration of less than six months. Some IRLCs are committed immediately to a specific purchaser through the use of best-efforts whole loan delivery commitments, while other IRLCs are funded prior to being committed to third-party purchasers. The hedging instruments related to IRLCs are classified and accounted for as derivative instruments in an economic hedge, with gains and losses recognized in revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. Hedging instruments related to funded, uncommitted loans are accounted for at fair value, with changes recognized in revenues in the consolidated statements of operations, along with changes in the fair value of the funded, uncommitted loans. The fair value change related to the hedging instruments generally offsets the fair value change in the uncommitted loans. The net fair value change, which for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 was not significant, is recognized in current earnings. At September 30, 2021, hedging instruments used to mitigate interest rate risk related to uncommitted mortgage loans held for sale and uncommitted IRLCs totaled a notional amount of $2.7 billion. Uncommitted IRLCs totaled a notional amount of approximately $1.4 billion and uncommitted mortgage loans held for sale totaled a notional amount of approximately $1.3 billion at September 30, 2021.

We also use hedging instruments as part of a program to offer below market interest rate financing to our homebuyers. At September 30, 2021 and 2020, we had MBS totaling $834.6 million and $1.1 billion, respectively, that did not yet have IRLCs or closed loans created or assigned and recorded an asset of $1.1 million at September 30, 2021 and a liability of $5.3 million at September 30, 2020 for the fair value of such MBS position.

The following table sets forth principal cash flows by scheduled maturity, effective weighted average interest rates and estimated fair value of our debt obligations as of September 30, 2021. Because the mortgage repurchase facility is effectively secured by certain mortgage loans held for sale that are typically sold within 60 days, its outstanding balance is included in the most current period presented. The interest rate for our variable rate debt represents the weighted average interest rate in effect at September 30, 2021.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of D.R. Horton, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of D.R. Horton, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations, total equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021 based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated November 18, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the account or disclosure to which it relates.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.

Dallas, Texas

November 18, 2021

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of D.R. Horton, Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited D.R Horton, Inc. and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, D.R. Horton, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on the COSO criteria**.**

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, total equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, and the related notes and our report dated November 18, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Dallas, Texas

November 18, 2021

D.R. HORTON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

D.R. HORTON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

D.R. HORTON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF TOTAL EQUITY

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None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this report, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on that evaluation, the CEO and CFO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2021 were effective in providing reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports the Company files, furnishes, submits or otherwise provides the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed in reports filed by the Company under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the CEO and CFO, in such a manner as to allow timely decisions regarding the required disclosure.

There have been no changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Internal control over financial reporting is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of September 30, 2021.

Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, as stated in their report included herein.

None.

PART III

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Proposal One — Election of Directors,” “Corporate Governance and Board Matters” and “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports,” if applicable, in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Executive Compensation” and “CEO Pay Ratio” in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and incorporated herein by reference.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table summarizes our equity compensation plans as of September 30, 2021.

(1)Amount includes outstanding stock option and restricted stock unit awards. The number of outstanding performance-based restricted stock unit awards is based on the target number of units granted.

(2)Amount reflects the weighted average exercise price with respect to outstanding stock options and does not take into account outstanding restricted stock units, which do not have an exercise price.

(3)Amount includes 2,714,736 shares reserved for issuance under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, employees purchased 112,995 shares of common stock in fiscal 2021.

The remaining information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock” in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions” and “Corporate Governance and Board Matters” in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Independent Registered Public Accountants” in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

(a)The following documents are filed as part of this report.

(1) Financial Statements

Our consolidated financial statements are included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

(3) Exhibits

The exhibits listed in (b) are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(b)Exhibits

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.