David Auld

D.R. Horton is America's largest homebuilder by volume, delivering over 90,000 homes annually across 33 states and 118 markets. David Auld led the company as CEO from 2014 to 2023, driving the expansion that cemented D.R. Horton's #1 position, and now serves as Executive Vice Chairman under CEO Paul Romanowski. The company was founded by Donald R. Horton in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas. D.R. Horton's competitive advantage is its focus on the most in-demand segment of the U.S. housing market: affordable entry-level homes, typically priced at $200,000-$400,000, in high-growth Sun Belt markets (Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, Arizona, Georgia). The company's Express Homes brand targets first-time buyers, while Freedom Homes serves the 55+ active adult market, and Emerald Homes covers the luxury segment. D.R. Horton also operates a significant build-to-rent business through its DHI Communities subsidiary. The U.S. housing market faces a structural supply deficit — approximately 4-5 million homes short of demand — which benefits homebuilders with land and scale. Key stock drivers include mortgage interest rates (the most important variable), new home demand, housing inventory levels, land costs and availability, construction labor and material costs, build-to-rent demand, and geographic trends favoring Sun Belt migration.