Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at American Woodmark (NASDAQ: AMWD) and its peers.

Traditionally, home construction materials companies have built economic moats with expertise in specialized areas, brand recognition, and strong relationships with contractors. More recently, advances to address labor availability and job site productivity have spurred innovation that is driving incremental demand. However, these companies are at the whim of residential construction volumes, which tend to be cyclical and can be impacted heavily by economic factors such as interest rates. Additionally, the costs of raw materials can be driven by a myriad of worldwide factors and greatly influence the profitability of home construction materials companies.

The 12 home construction materials stocks we track reported a slower Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.6% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 5.7% since the latest earnings results.

American Woodmark (NASDAQ: AMWD)

Starting as a small millwork shop, American Woodmark (NASDAQ: AMWD) is a cabinet manufacturing company that helps customers from inspiration to installation.

American Woodmark reported revenues of $394.6 million, down 12.8% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is up 9.5% since reporting and currently trades at $56.80.

Read our full report on American Woodmark here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Quanex (NYSE: NX)

Starting in the seamless tube industry, Quanex (NYSE: NX) manufactures building products like window, door, kitchen, and bath cabinet components.

Quanex reported revenues of $489.8 million, flat year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.4%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $16.01.

Is now the time to buy Quanex? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

JELD-WEN (NYSE: JELD)

Founded in the 1960s as a general wood-making company, JELD-WEN (NYSE: JELD) manufactures doors, windows, and other related building products.

JELD-WEN reported revenues of $809.5 million, down 13.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

JELD-WEN delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 34.9% since the results and currently trades at $2.74.

Read our full analysis of JELD-WEN’s results here.

Masco (NYSE: MAS)

Headquartered just outside of Detroit, MI, Masco (NYSE: MAS) designs and manufactures home-building products such as glass shower doors, decorative lighting, bathtubs, and faucets.

Masco reported revenues of $1.92 billion, down 3.3% year on year. This result came in 1.5% below analysts' expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it also produced a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 6.2% since reporting and currently trades at $64.22.

Read our full, actionable report on Masco here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Hayward (NYSE: HAYW)

Credited with introducing the first variable-speed pool pump, Hayward (NYSE: HAYW) makes residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories.

Hayward reported revenues of $244.3 million, up 7.4% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Hayward delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 4% since reporting and currently trades at $15.97.

Read our full, actionable report on Hayward here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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