Connect with us

Uncategorized

Taylor Morrison Reports First Quarter 2023 Results, Including Earnings per Diluted Share of $1.74

Taylor Morrison Reports First Quarter 2023 Results, Including Earnings per Diluted Share of $1.74
PR Newswire
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 26, 2023

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC), a leadi…

Published

on

Taylor Morrison Reports First Quarter 2023 Results, Including Earnings per Diluted Share of $1.74

PR Newswire

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC), a leading national land developer and homebuilder, announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. Reported net income in the first quarter was $191 million, or $1.74 per diluted share. This was up from $177 million, or $1.44 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2022.

First quarter 2023 highlights included the following, as compared to the first quarter 2022:

  • Home closings declined eight percent to 2,541 homes, which generated revenue of $1.6 billion.
  • Home closings gross margin improved 80 basis points to 23.9 percent.
  • Net sales orders declined seven percent to 2,854, which represented a monthly absorption pace of 2.9 per community versus 3.1 a year ago.
  • SG&A as a percentage of home closings revenue increased 30 basis points to 9.9 percent.
  • Homebuilding lots decreased five percent to approximately 73,000 homesites, or 5.9 years of supply, of which 3.4 years was owned.
  • Controlled lots as a percentage of total lot supply increased approximately 300 basis points to 42 percent.
  • Book value per share increased 32 percent to $44.04.
  • Return on equity improved 480 basis points to 23.9 percent.

"I am pleased to share the results of our first quarter, which outperformed our expectations across all key metrics due to our team's strong execution and stabilizing market dynamics. We delivered 2,541 homes at a strong home closings gross margin of 23.9% and efficient SG&A ratio of just 9.9%. Most notably, this gross margin was up 80 basis points year over year due to our ongoing focus on operational enhancements and our balanced approach to to-be-built and spec home sales," said Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO.

"Despite the modest decline in revenue, our focus on improving operating margins through strategic efficiencies allowed us to deliver a more than 20% increase in diluted earnings to $1.74 per share and 32% growth in our book value to $44 per share. These strong results drove a nearly 500 basis point increase in our return on equity to approximately 24%. We ended the quarter with approximately $2 billion in total liquidity and our homebuilding net debt-to-capital ratio declined further to an all-time low of 21%, leaving us with significant financial flexibility to invest in our business to drive returns as we move forward."

Palmer continued, "Following a strong early start to the year, positive sales momentum accelerated further into March, consistent with typical seasonal patterns despite the uncertainties facing the market. In total, during the quarter, our gross sales orders improved to a healthy monthly pace of 3.4 per community, the highest level since the third quarter of 2021, while our cancellation rate declined to more normalized levels at 14% of gross orders. This drove our monthly net sales pace to 2.9 per community as compared to 1.9 in the fourth quarter and 3.1 a year ago. This momentum has carried through the first three weeks of April, with our sales running at a pace of approximately 3.1 net orders per community. Meanwhile, leading indicators—including sales traffic, mortgage pre-qualifications and digital home reservations, which remained our top conversion source at a rate of 40% in the first quarter—point to continued strength."

"While we are greatly encouraged by the recent improvement in sales and consumer sentiment, we also recognize the uncertainty surrounding interest rates and economic conditions. Given our balanced portfolio, scale and financial strength, we believe we are well positioned to navigate the near-term market volatility while remaining grounded in our long-term approach to disciplined capital allocation and market positioning. Our leadership and field teams are accustomed to operating within these dynamic market conditions, and our playbook will continue to emphasize smart growth, operational efficiencies and an exceptional customer experience," said Palmer.

Business Highlights (All comparisons are of the current quarter to the prior-year quarter, unless indicated.)

Homebuilding

  • Home closings revenue declined two percent to $1.6 billion, driven by an eight percent decline in home closings to 2,541, partially offset by a seven percent increase in average closing price to $635,000.
  • Home closings gross margin improved 80 basis points to 23.9 percent. The improvement was driven by strength in to-be-built home sales margins, which were up year over year and stronger than spec sale margins, as well as the ongoing benefit of operational enhancements. These tailwinds were partially offset by higher construction costs and the impact from increased incentives and other net price adjustments.
  • SG&A as a percentage of home closings revenue increased just 30 basis points to 9.9 percent from last year's record first quarter low of 9.6 percent despite the decline in revenue and closings, driven by sales and marketing efficiencies and strong cost management.
  • Net sales orders of 2,854 were down seven percent, driven by a similar decline in the monthly absorption pace to 2.9 net sales orders per community and a flat community count of 324.
  • The average net sales order price decreased eight percent to $626,000, driven by net pricing adjustments and an increase in the percentage of spec home sales compared to a year ago.
  • As a percentage of gross orders, cancellations equaled 14.0 percent as compared to 24.4 percent in the prior quarter and 6.4 percent a year ago.
  • Backlog at the end of the quarter was 6,267 sold homes with a sales value of $4.2 billion, which was backed by average customer deposits of approximately $66,000, or 10% per home.

Land Portfolio

  • Homebuilding land acquisition and development spend totaled $321 million, down 19 percent from $394 million a year ago. Development-related spend accounted for 68 percent of the total versus 51 percent a year ago.
  • Homebuilding lot supply was approximately 73,000 owned and controlled homesites, down from 77,000 a year ago.
  • Controlled homebuilding lots as a share of total lot supply was 42 percent, up from 39 percent.
  • Based on trailing twelve-month home closings, total homebuilding lots represented 5.9 years of total supply, of which 3.4 years was owned. This compared to 5.6 years of total supply and 3.5 years of owned supply a year ago.

Financial Services

  • The mortgage capture rate equaled 82 percent, up from 72 percent.
  • Borrowers had an average credit score of 756 and debt-to-income ratio of 38 percent.

Balance Sheet

  • Total available liquidity was approximately $2.0 billion, including $878 million of unrestricted cash and $1.1 billion of capacity on the Company's revolving credit facilities, which were undrawn outside of normal letters of credit.
  • The net homebuilding debt-to-capital ratio was 21.0 percent, down from 35.7 percent a year ago. Excluding $878 million of unrestricted cash on hand, the gross homebuilding debt-to-capital ratio was 30.9 percent.
  • The Company repurchased approximately 109,000 of its outstanding shares for $4 million at an average share price of $32.64. At quarter end, the Company had $276 million remaining on its $500 million share repurchase authorization.

Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2023

  • Home closings are expected to be between 2,600 to 2,700
  • Average closing price is expected to be between $630,000 to $635,000
  • GAAP home closings gross margin is expected to be between 23.0 to 23.5 percent
  • Ending active community count is expected to be between 320 to 325
  • Effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 25 percent
  • Diluted share count is expected to be approximately 110 million

Full Year 2023

  • Home closings are expected to be between 10,000 to 11,000
  • Average closing price is expected to be around $625,000
  • GAAP home closings gross margin is expected to be approximately 23.0 percent
  • SG&A as a percentage of home closings revenue is expected to be in the high-nine percent range
  • Ending active community count is expected to be between 320 to 325
  • Effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 25 percent
  • Diluted share count is expected to be approximately 110 million
  • Homebuilding land and development spend is expected to be around $1.6 billion

 

Quarterly Financial Comparison


($ in thousands)


Q1 2023



Q1 2022



Q1 2023 vs. Q1
2022



Total Revenue


$

1,661,857



$

1,703,124




(2.4)

%

Home Closings Revenue


$

1,612,595



$

1,644,409




(1.9)

%

Home Closings Gross Margin


$

385,082



$

379,435




1.5

%




23.9

%



23.1

%


80 bps increase


 SG&A


$

159,021



$

157,265




1.1

%

% of Home Closings Revenue



9.9

%



9.6

%


30 bps increase






























CFO Transition

Taylor Morrison announced today that its Board of Directors approved a request from Louis Steffens, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, to step down from his CFO responsibilities, effective May 1, to attend to family needs that will require him to relocate out of Arizona. Mr. Steffens will remain with the Company as EVP of Strategic and Operational Initiatives and assist in the CFO transition.

Curt VanHyfte, the Company's West Area President, will serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer as we commence a search for Mr. Steffens' permanent successor. Mr. VanHyfte joined Taylor Morrison in connection with its acquisition of William Lyon Homes in February 2020. In his current role, he oversees and drives operational excellence and growth for Western markets, including those in Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon. During his nearly 30-year career in homebuilding, he has held division, regional and national roles in finance and spent time as a Division President in Chicago, St. Louis, Houston and Phoenix for several homebuilders. Mr. VanHyfte earned a B.S. in accounting with a minor in business management from St. John's University in Minnesota.

Earnings Conference Call Webcast

A public webcast to discuss the Company's earnings will be held later today at 8:30 a.m. ET. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations portion of Taylor Morrison's website at www.taylormorrison.com under the Events & Presentations tab.

For call participants, the dial-in number is (844) 200-6205 and conference ID is 833200. The call will be recorded and available for replay on the Company's website later today and will be available for one year from the date of the original earnings call.

About Taylor Morrison

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands—including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade, Darling Homes Collection by Taylor Morrison and Yardly. From 2016-2023, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities, and our team is highlighted in our latest Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report on our website.

Forward-Looking Statements

This earnings summary includes "forward-looking statements." These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities, as well as those of the markets we serve or intend to serve, to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate to matters of a strictly factual or historical nature and generally discuss or relate to forecasts, estimates or other expectations regarding future events. Generally, the words ""anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "may," "will," "can," "could," "might," "should" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, including statements related to expected financial, operating and performance results, planned transactions, planned objectives of management, future developments or conditions in the industries in which we participate and other trends, developments and uncertainties that may affect our business in the future.

Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among other things: inflation or deflation; changes in general and local economic conditions; slowdowns or severe downturns in the housing market; homebuyers' ability to obtain suitable financing; increases in interest rates, taxes or government fees; shortages in, disruptions of and cost of labor; higher cancellation rates of existing agreements of sale; competition in our industry; any increase in unemployment or underemployment; the scale and scope of the ongoing COVID-19  pandemic; the seasonality of our business; the physical impacts of climate change and the increased focus by third-parties on sustainability issues; our ability to obtain additional performance, payment and completion surety bonds and letters of credit; significant home warranty and construction defect claims; our reliance on subcontractors; failure to manage land acquisitions, inventory and development and construction processes; availability of land and lots at competitive prices; decreases in the market value of our land inventory; new or changing government regulations and legal challenges; our compliance with environmental laws and regulations regarding climate change; our ability to sell mortgages we originate and claims on loans sold to third parties; governmental regulation applicable to our financial services and title services business; the loss of any of our important commercial lender relationships; our ability to use deferred tax assets; raw materials and building supply shortages and price fluctuations; our concentration of significant operations in certain geographic areas; risks associated with our unconsolidated joint venture arrangements; information technology failures and data security breaches; costs to engage in and the success of future growth or expansion of our operations or acquisitions or disposals of businesses; costs associated with our defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes; damages associated with any major health and safety incident; our ownership, leasing or occupation of land and the use of hazardous materials; existing or future litigation, arbitration or other claims; negative publicity or poor relations with the residents of our communities; failure to recruit, retain and develop highly skilled, competent people; utility and resource shortages or rate fluctuations; constriction of the capital markets; risks related to instability in the banking system as a result of several recent bank failures; risks related to our substantial debt and the agreements governing such debt, including restrictive covenants contained in such agreements; our ability to access the capital markets; the risks associated with maintaining effective internal controls over financial reporting; provisions in our charter and bylaws that may delay or prevent an acquisition by a third party; and our ability to effectively manage our expanded operations.

In addition, other such risks and uncertainties may be found in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our subsequent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC. We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or changes in our expectations, except as required by applicable law.

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)






Three Months Ended
March 31,




2023



2022


Home closings revenue, net


$

1,612,595



$

1,644,409


Land closings revenue



4,520




15,610


Financial services revenue



35,149




35,199


Amenity and other revenue



9,593




7,906


          Total revenue



1,661,857




1,703,124


Cost of home closings



1,227,513




1,264,974


Cost of land closings



4,345




14,364


Financial services expenses



22,148




24,214


Amenity and other expenses



8,285




6,444


          Total cost of revenue



1,262,291




1,309,996


Gross margin



399,566




393,128


Sales, commissions and other marketing costs



92,760




89,123


General and administrative expenses



66,261




68,142


Net income from unconsolidated entities



(1,929)




(1,831)


Interest (income)/expense, net



(1,111)




4,252


Other (income)/expense, net



(4,834)




542


Income before income taxes



248,419




232,900


Income tax provision



57,191




54,439


Net income before allocation to non-controlling interests



191,228




178,461


Net income attributable to non-controlling interests



(177)




(1,758)


Net income available to Taylor Morrison Home Corporation


$

191,051



$

176,703


Earnings per common share







Basic


$

1.76



$

1.46


Diluted


$

1.74



$

1.44


Weighted average number of shares of common stock:







Basic



108,429




121,186


Diluted



110,053




122,657


 

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, unaudited)




March 31,
2023



December 31,
2022


Assets







Cash and cash equivalents


$

877,717



$

724,488


Restricted cash



6,717




2,147


Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash



884,434




726,635


Owned inventory



5,330,548




5,346,905


Consolidated real estate not owned



2,295




23,971


Total real estate inventory



5,332,843




5,370,876


Land deposits



228,117




263,356


Mortgage loans held for sale



186,194




346,364


Lease right of use assets



84,052




90,446


Prepaid expenses and other assets, net



225,381




265,392


Other receivables, net



196,184




191,504


Investments in unconsolidated entities



294,755




282,900


Deferred tax assets, net



67,656




67,656


Property and equipment, net



213,374




202,398


Goodwill



663,197




663,197


Total assets


$

8,376,187



$

8,470,724


Liabilities







Accounts payable


$

247,887



$

269,761


Accrued expenses and other liabilities



424,619




490,253


Lease liabilities



92,895




100,174


Income taxes payable



2,977





Customer deposits



414,085




412,092


Estimated development liabilities



43,005




43,753


Senior notes, net



1,816,877




1,816,303


Loans payable and other borrowings



338,667




361,486


Revolving credit facility borrowings







Mortgage warehouse borrowings



146,334




306,072


Liabilities attributable to consolidated real estate not owned



2,295




23,971


Total liabilities


$

3,529,641



$

3,823,865


Stockholders' Equity







Total stockholders' equity



4,846,546




4,646,859


Total liabilities and stockholders' equity


$

8,376,187



$

8,470,724


 

Homes Closed and Home Closings Revenue, Net:






Three Months Ended March 31,




Homes Closed



Home Closings Revenue, Net



Average Selling Price


(Dollars in thousands)


2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change


East



1,004




937




7.2

%


$

601,611



$

505,998




18.9

%


$

599



$

540




10.9

%

Central



731




664




10.1

%



463,394




368,575




25.7

%



634




555




14.2

%

West



806




1,167




(30.9)

%



547,590




769,836




(28.9)

%



679




660




2.9

%

Total



2,541




2,768




(8.2)

%


$

1,612,595



$

1,644,409




(1.9)

%


$

635



$

594




6.9

%

 

Net Sales Orders:






Three Months Ended March 31,




Net Sales Orders



Sales Value



Average Selling Price


(Dollars in thousands)


2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change


East



1,079




1,027




5.1

%


$

644,519



$

606,210




6.3

%


$

597



$

590




1.2

%

Central



674




887




(24.0)

%



384,830




583,279




(34.0)

%



571




658




(13.2)

%

West



1,101




1,140




(3.4)

%



756,344




895,730




(15.6)

%



687




786




(12.6)

%

Total



2,854




3,054




(6.5)

%


$

1,785,693



$

2,085,219




(14.4)

%


$

626



$

683




(8.3)

%

 

Sales Order Backlog:






Three Months Ended March 31,




Sold Homes in Backlog



Sales Value



Average Selling Price


(Dollars in thousands)


2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change



2023



2022



Change


East



2,658




3,309




(19.7)

%


$

1,775,970



$

2,002,530




(11.3)

%


$

668



$

605




10.4

%

Central



1,660




3,010




(44.9)

%



1,132,928




1,962,538




(42.3)

%



682




652




4.6

%

West



1,949




3,081




(36.7)

%



1,328,187




2,232,878




(40.5)

%



681




725




(6.1)

%

Total



6,267




9,400




(33.3)

%


$

4,237,085



$

6,197,946




(31.6)

%


$

676



$

659




2.6

%

 

Ending Active Selling Communities:






As of March 31,



Change




2023



2022





East



106




121




(12.4)

%

Central



98




106




(7.5)

%

West



120




97




23.7

%

Total



324




324





 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the results reported in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"), we provide our investors with supplemental information relating to: (i) adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per common share, (ii) adjusted income before income taxes and related margin, (iii) adjusted home closings gross margin; (iv) EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA and (v) net homebuilding debt to capitalization ratio.

Adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per common share and adjusted income before income taxes and related margin are non-GAAP financial measures that reflect the net income/(loss) available to the Company excluding, to the extent applicable in a given period, the impact of inventory impairment charges, impairment of investment in unconsolidated entities, pre-acquisition abandonment charges, gains on land transfers and extinguishment of debt, net, and in the case of adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per common share, the tax impact due to such items. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures that measure performance by adjusting net income before allocation to non-controlling interests to exclude, as applicable, interest expense/(income), net, amortization of capitalized interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), non-cash compensation expense, if any, inventory impairment charges, impairment of investment in unconsolidated entities, pre-acquisition abandonment charges, gains on land transfers and extinguishment of debt, net. Net homebuilding debt to capitalization ratio is a non-GAAP financial measure we calculate by dividing (i) total debt, plus unamortized debt issuance cost/(premium), net, and less mortgage warehouse borrowings, net of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, by (ii) total capitalization (the sum of net homebuilding debt and total stockholders' equity). Adjusted home closings gross margin is a non-GAAP financial measure based on GAAP home closings gross margin (which is inclusive of capitalized interest), excluding inventory impairment charges.

Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our performance on a consolidated basis, as well as the performance of our regions, and to set targets for performance-based compensation.  We also use the ratio of net homebuilding debt to total capitalization as an indicator of overall leverage and to evaluation our performance against other companies in the homebuilding industry.  In the future, we may include additional adjustments in the above-described non-GAAP financial measures to the extent we deem them appropriate and useful to management and investors.

We believe that adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per common share, adjusted income before income taxes and related margin, as well as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, are useful for investors in order to allow them to evaluate our operations without the effects of various items we do not believe are characteristic of our ongoing operations or performance and also because such metrics assist both investors and management in analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of our business. Adjusted EBITDA also provides an indicator of general economic performance that is not affected by fluctuations in interest rates or effective tax rates, levels of depreciation or amortization, or unusual items. Because we use the ratio of net homebuilding debt to total capitalization to evaluate our performance against other companies in the homebuilding industry, we believe this measure is also relevant and useful to investors for that reason. We believe that adjusted home closings gross margin is useful to investors because it allows investors to evaluate the performance of our homebuilding operations without the varying effects of items or transactions we do not believe are characteristic of our ongoing operations or performance.

These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, the comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures of our operating performance or liquidity. Although other companies in the homebuilding industry may report similar information, their definitions may differ. We urge investors to understand the methods used by other companies to calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures before comparing their measures to ours.

A reconciliation of (i) EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA and (ii) net homebuilding debt to capitalization ratio to the comparable GAAP measures is presented below. Because the company did not experience any material adjustments applicable to (i) adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per common share; (ii) adjusted income before income taxes and related margin; or (iii) adjusted home closings gross margin during the periods presented that would cause such measures to differ from the comparable GAAP measures, such measures have not been separately presented herein.

 

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation






Three Months Ended March 31,


(Dollars in thousands)


2023



2022


Net income before allocation to non-controlling interests


$

191,228



$

178,461


Interest (income)/expense, net



(1,111)




4,252


Amortization of capitalized interest



27,649




30,430


Income tax provision



57,191




54,439


Depreciation and amortization



1,790




1,930


EBITDA


$

276,747



$

269,512


Non-cash compensation expense



7,533




6,863


Adjusted EBITDA


$

284,280



$

276,375


Total revenue


$

1,661,857



$

1,703,124


Net income before allocation to non-controlling interests as a percentage of
   total revenue



11.5

%



10.5

%

EBITDA as a percentage of total revenue



16.7

%



15.8

%

Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenue



17.1

%



16.2

%

 

Debt to Capitalization Ratios Reconciliation




($ in thousands)


As of
March 31, 2023



As of
December 31, 2022



As of
March 31, 2022


Total debt


$

2,301,878



$

2,483,861



$

3,048,373


Plus: unamortized debt issuance cost/(premium), net



10,193




10,767




(2,311)


Less: mortgage warehouse borrowings


$

(146,334)




(306,072)




(200,662)


Total homebuilding debt


$

2,165,737



$

2,188,556



$

2,845,400


Total equity



4,846,546




4,646,859




4,094,798


Total capitalization


$

7,012,283



$

6,835,415



$

6,940,198


Total homebuilding debt to capitalization ratio



30.9

%



32.0

%



41.0

%

Total homebuilding debt


$

2,165,737



$

2,188,556



$

2,845,400


Less: cash and cash equivalents



(877,717)




(724,488)




(569,249)


Net homebuilding debt


$

1,288,020



$

1,464,068



$

2,276,151


Total equity



4,846,546




4,646,859




4,094,798


Total capitalization


$

6,134,566



$

6,110,927



$

6,370,949


Net homebuilding debt to capitalization ratio



21.0

%



24.0

%



35.7

%

 

CONTACT:
Mackenzie Aron, VP Investor Relations
(480) 734-2060
investor@taylormorrison.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taylor-morrison-reports-first-quarter-2023-results-including-earnings-per-diluted-share-of-1-74--301807317.html

SOURCE Taylor Morrison

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Comments on February Employment Report

The headline jobs number in the February employment report was above expectations; however, December and January payrolls were revised down by 167,000 combined.   The participation rate was unchanged, the employment population ratio decreased, and the …

Published

on

The headline jobs number in the February employment report was above expectations; however, December and January payrolls were revised down by 167,000 combined.   The participation rate was unchanged, the employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate was increased to 3.9%.

Leisure and hospitality gained 58 thousand jobs in February.  At the beginning of the pandemic, in March and April of 2020, leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs, and are now down 17 thousand jobs since February 2020.  So, leisure and hospitality has now essentially added back all of the jobs lost in March and April 2020. 

Construction employment increased 23 thousand and is now 547 thousand above the pre-pandemic level. 

Manufacturing employment decreased 4 thousand jobs and is now 184 thousand above the pre-pandemic level.


Prime (25 to 54 Years Old) Participation

Since the overall participation rate is impacted by both cyclical (recession) and demographic (aging population, younger people staying in school) reasons, here is the employment-population ratio for the key working age group: 25 to 54 years old.

The 25 to 54 years old participation rate increased in February to 83.5% from 83.3% in January, and the 25 to 54 employment population ratio increased to 80.7% from 80.6% the previous month.

Both are above pre-pandemic levels.

Average Hourly Wages

WagesThe graph shows the nominal year-over-year change in "Average Hourly Earnings" for all private employees from the Current Employment Statistics (CES).  

There was a huge increase at the beginning of the pandemic as lower paid employees were let go, and then the pandemic related spike reversed a year later.

Wage growth has trended down after peaking at 5.9% YoY in March 2022 and was at 4.3% YoY in February.   

Part Time for Economic Reasons

Part Time WorkersFrom the BLS report:
"The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in February. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs."
The number of persons working part time for economic reasons decreased in February to 4.36 million from 4.42 million in February. This is slightly above pre-pandemic levels.

These workers are included in the alternate measure of labor underutilization (U-6) that increased to 7.3% from 7.2% in the previous month. This is down from the record high in April 2020 of 23.0% and up from the lowest level on record (seasonally adjusted) in December 2022 (6.5%). (This series started in 1994). This measure is above the 7.0% level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).

Unemployed over 26 Weeks

Unemployed Over 26 WeeksThis graph shows the number of workers unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

According to the BLS, there are 1.203 million workers who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks and still want a job, down from 1.277 million the previous month.

This is down from post-pandemic high of 4.174 million, and up from the recent low of 1.050 million.

This is close to pre-pandemic levels.

Job Streak

Through February 2024, the employment report indicated positive job growth for 38 consecutive months, putting the current streak in 5th place of the longest job streaks in US history (since 1939).

Headline Jobs, Top 10 Streaks
Year EndedStreak, Months
12019100
2199048
3200746
4197945
52024138
6 tie194333
6 tie198633
6 tie200033
9196729
10199525
1Currrent Streak

Summary:

The headline monthly jobs number was above consensus expectations; however, December and January payrolls were revised down by 167,000 combined.  The participation rate was unchanged, the employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate was increased to 3.9%.  Another solid report.

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle

When faced with a threat, T cells have the decision-making flexibility to both clear out the pathogen now and ready themselves for a future encounter.

Understanding the flexibility of T cell memory can lead to improved vaccines and immunotherapies. Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How does your immune system decide between fighting invading pathogens now or preparing to fight them in the future? Turns out, it can change its mind.

Every person has 10 million to 100 million unique T cells that have a critical job in the immune system: patrolling the body for invading pathogens or cancerous cells to eliminate. Each of these T cells has a unique receptor that allows it to recognize foreign proteins on the surface of infected or cancerous cells. When the right T cell encounters the right protein, it rapidly forms many copies of itself to destroy the offending pathogen.

Diagram depicting a helper T cell differentiating into either a memory T cell or an effector T cell after exposure to an antigen
T cells can differentiate into different subtypes of cells after coming into contact with an antigen. Anatomy & Physiology/SBCCOE, CC BY-NC-SA

Importantly, this process of proliferation gives rise to both short-lived effector T cells that shut down the immediate pathogen attack and long-lived memory T cells that provide protection against future attacks. But how do T cells decide whether to form cells that kill pathogens now or protect against future infections?

We are a team of bioengineers studying how immune cells mature. In our recently published research, we found that having multiple pathways to decide whether to kill pathogens now or prepare for future invaders boosts the immune system’s ability to effectively respond to different types of challenges.

Fight or remember?

To understand when and how T cells decide to become effector cells that kill pathogens or memory cells that prepare for future infections, we took movies of T cells dividing in response to a stimulus mimicking an encounter with a pathogen.

Specifically, we tracked the activity of a gene called T cell factor 1, or TCF1. This gene is essential for the longevity of memory cells. We found that stochastic, or probabilistic, silencing of the TCF1 gene when cells confront invading pathogens and inflammation drives an early decision between whether T cells become effector or memory cells. Exposure to higher levels of pathogens or inflammation increases the probability of forming effector cells.

Surprisingly, though, we found that some effector cells that had turned off TCF1 early on were able to turn it back on after clearing the pathogen, later becoming memory cells.

Through mathematical modeling, we determined that this flexibility in decision making among memory T cells is critical to generating the right number of cells that respond immediately and cells that prepare for the future, appropriate to the severity of the infection.

Understanding immune memory

The proper formation of persistent, long-lived T cell memory is critical to a person’s ability to fend off diseases ranging from the common cold to COVID-19 to cancer.

From a social and cognitive science perspective, flexibility allows people to adapt and respond optimally to uncertain and dynamic environments. Similarly, for immune cells responding to a pathogen, flexibility in decision making around whether to become memory cells may enable greater responsiveness to an evolving immune challenge.

Memory cells can be subclassified into different types with distinct features and roles in protective immunity. It’s possible that the pathway where memory cells diverge from effector cells early on and the pathway where memory cells form from effector cells later on give rise to particular subtypes of memory cells.

Our study focuses on T cell memory in the context of acute infections the immune system can successfully clear in days, such as cold, the flu or food poisoning. In contrast, chronic conditions such as HIV and cancer require persistent immune responses; long-lived, memory-like cells are critical for this persistence. Our team is investigating whether flexible memory decision making also applies to chronic conditions and whether we can leverage that flexibility to improve cancer immunotherapy.

Resolving uncertainty surrounding how and when memory cells form could help improve vaccine design and therapies that boost the immune system’s ability to provide long-term protection against diverse infectious diseases.

Kathleen Abadie was funded by a NSF (National Science Foundation) Graduate Research Fellowships. She performed this research in affiliation with the University of Washington Department of Bioengineering.

Elisa Clark performed her research in affiliation with the University of Washington (UW) Department of Bioengineering and was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRFP) and by a predoctoral fellowship through the UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM).

Hao Yuan Kueh receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Stock indexes are breaking records and crossing milestones – making many investors feel wealthier

The S&P 500 topped 5,000 on Feb. 9, 2024, for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average will probably hit a new big round number soon t…

Published

on

By

Major stock indexes were hitting or nearing records in February 2024, as they were in early 2020 when this TV chyron appeared. AP Photo/Richard Drew

The S&P 500 stock index topped 5,000 for the first time on Feb. 9, 2024, exciting some investors and garnering a flurry of media coverage. The Conversation asked Alexander Kurov, a financial markets scholar, to explain what stock indexes are and to say whether this kind of milestone is a big deal or not.

What are stock indexes?

Stock indexes measure the performance of a group of stocks. When prices rise or fall overall for the shares of those companies, so do stock indexes. The number of stocks in those baskets varies, as does the system for how this mix of shares gets updated.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, also known as the Dow, includes shares in the 30 U.S. companies with the largest market capitalization – meaning the total value of all the stock belonging to shareholders. That list currently spans companies from Apple to Walt Disney Co.

The S&P 500 tracks shares in 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies.

The Nasdaq composite tracks performance of more than 2,500 stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The DJIA, launched on May 26, 1896, is the oldest of these three popular indexes, and it was one of the first established.

Two enterprising journalists, Charles H. Dow and Edward Jones, had created a different index tied to the railroad industry a dozen years earlier. Most of the 12 stocks the DJIA originally included wouldn’t ring many bells today, such as Chicago Gas and National Lead. But one company that only got booted in 2018 had stayed on the list for 120 years: General Electric.

The S&P 500 index was introduced in 1957 because many investors wanted an option that was more representative of the overall U.S. stock market. The Nasdaq composite was launched in 1971.

You can buy shares in an index fund that mirrors a particular index. This approach can diversify your investments and make them less prone to big losses.

Index funds, which have only existed since Vanguard Group founder John Bogle launched the first one in 1976, now hold trillions of dollars .

Why are there so many?

There are hundreds of stock indexes in the world, but only about 50 major ones.

Most of them, including the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500, are value-weighted. That means stocks with larger market values account for a larger share of the index’s performance.

In addition to these broad-based indexes, there are many less prominent ones. Many of those emphasize a niche by tracking stocks of companies in specific industries like energy or finance.

Do these milestones matter?

Stock prices move constantly in response to corporate, economic and political news, as well as changes in investor psychology. Because company profits will typically grow gradually over time, the market usually fluctuates in the short term, while increasing in value over the long term.

The DJIA first reached 1,000 in November 1972, and it crossed the 10,000 mark on March 29, 1999. On Jan. 22, 2024, it surpassed 38,000 for the first time. Investors and the media will treat the new record set when it gets to another round number – 40,000 – as a milestone.

The S&P 500 index had never hit 5,000 before. But it had already been breaking records for several weeks.

Because there’s a lot of randomness in financial markets, the significance of round-number milestones is mostly psychological. There is no evidence they portend any further gains.

For example, the Nasdaq composite first hit 5,000 on March 10, 2000, at the end of the dot-com bubble.

The index then plunged by almost 80% by October 2002. It took 15 years – until March 3, 2015 – for it return to 5,000.

By mid-February 2024, the Nasdaq composite was nearing its prior record high of 16,057 set on Nov. 19, 2021.

Index milestones matter to the extent they pique investors’ attention and boost market sentiment.

Investors afflicted with a fear of missing out may then invest more in stocks, pushing stock prices to new highs. Chasing after stock trends may destabilize markets by moving prices away from their underlying values.

When a stock index passes a new milestone, investors become more aware of their growing portfolios. Feeling richer can lead them to spend more.

This is called the wealth effect. Many economists believe that the consumption boost that arises in response to a buoyant stock market can make the economy stronger.

Is there a best stock index to follow?

Not really. They all measure somewhat different things and have their own quirks.

For example, the S&P 500 tracks many different industries. However, because it is value-weighted, it’s heavily influenced by only seven stocks with very large market values.

Known as the “Magnificent Seven,” shares in Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla now account for over one-fourth of the S&P 500’s value. Nearly all are in the tech sector, and they played a big role in pushing the S&P across the 5,000 mark.

This makes the index more concentrated on a single sector than it appears.

But if you check out several stock indexes rather than just one, you’ll get a good sense of how the market is doing. If they’re all rising quickly or breaking records, that’s a clear sign that the market as a whole is gaining.

Sometimes the smartest thing is to not pay too much attention to any of them.

For example, after hitting record highs on Feb. 19, 2020, the S&P 500 plunged by 34% in just 23 trading days due to concerns about what COVID-19 would do to the economy. But the market rebounded, with stock indexes hitting new milestones and notching new highs by the end of that year.

Panicking in response to short-term market swings would have made investors more likely to sell off their investments in too big a hurry – a move they might have later regretted. This is why I believe advice from the immensely successful investor and fan of stock index funds Warren Buffett is worth heeding.

Buffett, whose stock-selecting prowess has made him one of the world’s 10 richest people, likes to say “Don’t watch the market closely.”

If you’re reading this because stock prices are falling and you’re wondering if you should be worried about that, consider something else Buffett has said: “The light can at any time go from green to red without pausing at yellow.”

And the opposite is true as well.

Alexander Kurov does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending