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Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) FY 2023 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from Builders FirstSource, Inc.'s 10-K for fiscal year 2023. Filing date: 2024-02-22. Report date: 2023-12-31. Accession: 0000950170-24-018584.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture. Confidence: high.

Company profile: BLDR · All MD&A years: index · Previous year: FY 2022 · Next year: FY 2024

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this annual report on Form 10-K. See “Risk Factors” contained in Item 1A. Risk Factors of this annual report on Form 10-K and “Cautionary Statement” contained in Item 1. Business of this annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements.

OVERVIEW

We are a leading supplier and manufacturer of building materials, manufactured components and construction services to professional contractors, sub-contractors and consumers. The Company operates approximately 570 locations in 43 states across the U.S. Given the span and depth of our geographical reach, our locations are organized into three geographical divisions (East, Central, and West), which are also our operating segments. All of our segments have similar customers, products and services, and distribution methods. Due to the similar economic characteristics, categories of products, distribution methods and customers, our operating segments are aggregated into one reportable segment.

We offer an integrated solution to our customers by providing manufacturing, supply, and installation of a full range of structural and related building products. Our manufactured products include our factory-built roof and floor trusses, wall panels, vinyl windows, custom millwork and trim, as well as engineered wood that we design, cut, and assemble for each home. We also assemble interior and exterior doors into pre-hung units. Additionally, we supply our customers with a broad offering of professional grade building products not manufactured by us, such as dimensional lumber and lumber sheet goods, various window, door and millwork lines along with other various building products. Our full range of construction-related services includes professional installation, turn-key framing and shell construction, and spans all of our product categories.

We group our building products into four product categories:


Lumber and Lumber Sheet Goods. Lumber and lumber sheet goods include dimensional lumber, plywood, and OSB products used in on-site house framing.


Manufactured Products. Manufactured products consist of wood floor and roof trusses, wall panels, and engineered wood.


Windows, Doors and Millwork. Windows and doors are comprised of the manufacturing, assembly, and distribution of windows and the assembly and distribution of interior and exterior door units. Millwork includes interior trim and custom features that we manufacture, such as intricate mouldings, stair parts, and columns.


Specialty Building Products and Services. Specialty building products and services consist of various products, including vinyl, composite and wood siding, exterior trim, metal studs, cement, roofing, insulation, wallboard, ceilings, cabinets, and hardware. This category also includes services such as turn-key framing, shell construction, design assistance and professional installation of products spanning all of our product categories. We also offer software products through our Paradigm subsidiary, including drafting, estimating, quoting, and virtual home design services, which provide software solutions to retailers, distributors, manufacturers and homebuilders that help them boost sales, reduce costs, and become more competitive.

Our operating results are dependent on the following trends, strategies, events and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control:


Homebuilding Industry and Market Competition. Our business is driven primarily by the residential new construction market and the residential repair and remodel market, which are in turn dependent upon a number of factors, including demographic trends, interest rates, consumer confidence, employment rates, housing affordability, household formation, land development costs, the availability of skilled construction labor, rising inflationary pressures, mortgage markets and the health of the economy. Many factors have impacted and may continue to impact our sales and gross margins, including continued consolidation within the building products supply industry, increased competition for homebuilder business, supply chain constraints and cyclical fluctuations in commodity prices. Moreover, our industry remains highly fragmented and competitive, and we will continue to face significant competition from local and regional suppliers. As various current market dynamics, including inflationary pressures, mortgage rate increases and shifts in housing affordability improve, industry forecasters, including the National Association of Home Builders (“NAHB”), expect to see housing demand increase in the near-term. Despite recent tempered market conditions, we believe the housing industry remains underbuilt and that there are several meaningful trends that indicate U.S. housing demand will continue to be strong over the long-term, including the aging of housing stock and normal population growth due to immigration and birthrate exceeding death rate.

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Targeting Large Production Homebuilders. The homebuilding industry continues to undergo consolidation, and the larger homebuilders continue to increase their market share. We expect that trend to continue as larger homebuilders have better liquidity and land positions relative to the smaller, less capitalized homebuilders. Our focus is on maintaining relationships and market share with these customers while balancing the competitive pressures we face in servicing large homebuilders with certain profitability expectations. Additionally, we have been successful in expanding our custom homebuilder base while maintaining acceptable credit standards.


Repair and remodel end market. While influenced by housing starts to a lesser degree than the homebuilding market, the repair and remodel market is still dependent upon some of the same factors, including demographic trends, interest rates, consumer confidence, employment rates, the health of the economy and home financing markets. As a result of these pressures, we may experience reduced sales demand, challenges in the supply chain, increased margin pressures and/or increased operating costs in this area of our business. We expect that our ability to remain competitive in this space will depend on our continued ability to provide a high level of customer service coupled with a broad product offering.


Use of Prefabricated Components. Homebuilders are increasingly using prefabricated components in order to realize increased efficiency, overcome skilled construction labor shortages and improve quality. Shortening cycle time from start to completion is a key imperative of the homebuilders during periods of strong consumer demand. As the availability of skilled construction labor remains limited, we continue to see the demand for prefabricated components increasing within the residential new construction market.


Economic Conditions. Economic changes both nationally and locally in our markets impact our financial performance. The building products supply industry is highly dependent upon new home construction and, to a lesser extent, repair and remodel activities, and is subject to cyclical market changes. Our operations are subject to fluctuations arising from changes in supply and demand, national and local economic conditions, labor costs and availability, competition, government regulation, trade policies, rising inflation and other factors that affect the homebuilding industry, such as demographic trends, increasing interest rates, housing starts, the high cost of land development, employment levels, consumer confidence, and the availability of credit to homebuilders, contractors, and homeowners. Disruptions and uncertainties as a result of a number of unforeseen environmental, social, economic or other factors, may have a significant impact on our future operating results.


Housing Affordability. The affordability of housing can be a key driver in demand for our products. Home affordability is influenced by a number of economic factors, such as the level of employment, consumer confidence, consumer income, supply of houses, the availability of financing and interest rates. Changes in the inventory of available homes and other economic factors relative to home prices could result in changes to the affordability of homes. As a result, homebuyer demand may shift toward smaller or larger homes creating fluctuations in demand for our products.


Cost and/or Availability of Materials. Prices of building materials, including wood products, are subject to cyclical market fluctuations, which may adversely impact operating income when prices rapidly rise or fall within a relatively short period of time. We purchase materials which are then sold to customers as well as used as direct production inputs for our manufactured and prefabricated products. Short-term changes in the cost and/or availability of these materials, some of which are subject to significant fluctuations, are often passed on to our customers, but our pricing quotation periods and market competition may limit our ability to pass on such price changes. We may also be limited in our ability to pass on increases on in-bound freight costs on our products. We may also experience challenges sourcing suitable products for our customers and may be forced to provide alternative materials as substitution for contracted orders. Our inability to pass on material price increases to our customers could adversely impact our operating results.


Controlling Expenses. Another important aspect of our strategy is controlling costs and striving to be a low total-cost building materials supplier in the markets we serve. We closely manage our working capital and operating expenses, and we pay careful attention to our logistics function and its effect on our shipping and handling costs. However, we do have significant fixed costs and declines in our customer demand could have an adverse impact on our operating results.


Multifamily and Light Commercial Business. Our primary focus has been on single-family residential new construction and the repair and remodel end market. However, through recent acquisitions we have expanded our operational footprint in the multifamily market, predominantly five-story and smaller, wood construction, and the light commercial market, growing our value-add components and millwork product offerings in this end market. We will continue to identify opportunities for profitable growth in these areas.

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Capital Structure. We strive to optimize our capital structure to ensure that our financial needs are met in light of economic conditions, business activities, organic investments, opportunities for growth through acquisition and the overall risk characteristics of our underlying assets. In addition to these factors, we also evaluate our capital structure on the basis of our leverage ratio, our liquidity position, our debt maturity profile, our market capitalization, and market interest rates. As such, we may enter into various debt or equity transactions to appropriately manage and optimize our capital structure and liquidity needs.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Business Combinations

During 2023 we completed a number of acquisitions for a combined $252.5 million purchase price, net of cash acquired, including the acquisitions of (i) Noltex Truss and its affiliates (“Noltex”), (ii) Builders Millwork and Supply, Inc. (“BMS”) (iii) J.B. Millworks, LLC (“JBM”), (iv) Church and Church, Inc. (“Church’s”), (v) Franks Cash and Carry, Inc. (“FCC”), (vi) Standale Lumber, LLC and Granville Lumber Co., LLC (“Standale”), and (vii) Encore Performance, LLC (“Encore”).

These acquisitions further expand our market footprint and provide additional operations in our value-add product categories and our multifamily customer segment and are further described in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Company Shares Repurchases

Under share repurchase programs authorized by the board of directors since August 2021, the Company has repurchased a total of 87.1 million shares of common stock, or 42.2% of the Company’s total shares outstanding, at an average price of $70.27, inclusive of fees and taxes, including 17.8 million shares of common stock at an average price of $100.49, inclusive of fees and taxes, in 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $200.5 million authorization remaining under its current share repurchase program.

On February 21, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $1.0 billion of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock, inclusive of the approximately $200 million remaining outstanding in the prior share repurchase plan authorized in April 2023.

Debt Transactions

On January 17 and April 3, 2023, the Company amended the Revolving facility to extend the maturity to January 17, 2028, and to include additional pricing tiers for the applicable margin.

These transactions are described further in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. Collectively, these transactions have extended our debt maturity. From time to time, based on market conditions and other factors and subject to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the Company may repurchase or call our notes, repay debt, repurchase shares of our common stock or otherwise enter into transactions regarding its capital structure.

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CURRENT OPERATING CONDITIONS AND OUTLOOK

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, actual U.S. total housing starts for the year ended December 31, 2023, were 1.4 million, a decrease of 9.0% compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. Actual U.S. single-family housing starts for the year ended December 31, 2023, were 0.9 million, a decrease of 6.0% compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. A composite of third-party sources, including the NAHB, are forecasting 1.4 million U.S. total housing starts and 1.0 million U.S. single-family housing starts for 2024, which is relatively flat and an increase of 4.7%, respectively, from 2023. In addition, in its September 2023 semi-annual forecast, the Home Improvement Research Institute (“HIRI”) forecasted sales in the professional repair and remodel end market to increase 1.3% in 2024 compared to 2023.

We believe the long-term outlook for the housing industry is positive and that the housing industry remains underbuilt due to growth in the underlying demographics compared to historical new construction levels. However, uncertainty around interest rates and inflation may continue to dampen near-term housing industry demand as homes are less affordable for consumers, investors and builders. We believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of the construction activity in our markets and to increase our market share, which may include strategic acquisitions. We will continue to focus on working capital by closely monitoring the credit exposure of our customers, remaining focused on maintaining the right level of inventory and by working with our vendors to improve payment terms. We strive to achieve the appropriate balance of short-term expense control while maintaining the expertise and capacity to grow the business as market conditions expand.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, can be found under Item 7 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023.

2023 Compared with 2022

The following table sets forth the percentage relationship to net sales of certain costs, expenses and income items for the years ended December 31:

20232022
Net sales100.0%100.0%
Cost of sales64.8%65.9%
Gross margin35.2%34.1%
Selling, general and administrative expenses22.4%17.5%
Income from operations12.8%16.6%
Interest expense, net1.1%0.9%
Income tax expense2.6%3.6%
Net income9.1%12.1%

Net Sales. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, were $17.1 billion, a 24.8% decrease from net sales of $22.7 billion for 2022. Net sales decreased primarily as a result of a core organic sales decrease of 17.3% and a commodity price deflation decrease of 11.1%, partially offset by sales growth from acquisitions of 3.6%.

The following table shows net sales classified by major product category for the years ended December 31:

20232022
Net Sales% of Net SalesNet Sales% of Net Sales% Change
(in millions)(in millions)
Lumber and lumber sheet goods$4,128.924.1%$8,086.835.6%(48.9)%
Manufactured products4,700.727.5%5,675.724.9%(17.2)%
Windows, doors and millwork4,289.125.1%4,653.320.5%(7.8)%
Specialty building products and services3,978.623.3%4,310.619.0%(7.7)%
Net sales$17,097.3100.0%$22,726.4100.0%(24.8)%

We experienced decreased net sales in all of our product categories primarily due to a slow-down in single-family housing starts throughout the year, resulting in a decline in core organic sales, and commodity price deflation.

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Gross Margin. Gross margin decreased $1.7 billion to $6.0 billion due to decreased sales. Our gross margin percentage increased to 35.2% in 2023 from 34.1% in 2022, a 1.1% increase. This increase was attributable to an improved product mix toward our value-add products, including recent strategic investments in multifamily value-add operations.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $0.1 billion, or 3.5%. This decrease in expenses was primarily due to decreased variable compensation costs related to decreased sales and profitability, and reduced expense related to customer reserves, partially offset by additional operating expenses from locations acquired within the last twelve months.

As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased to 22.4% from 17.5% in 2022. This increase was primarily due to decreased cost leverage on lower net sales during the period.

Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net was $192.1 million in 2023, a decrease of $6.3 million from 2022. Interest expense decreased primarily due to the $27.4 million loss on extinguishment recognized in 2022, partially offset by higher debt balances and average interest rates in 2023 compared to 2022.

Income Tax Expense. We recorded income tax expense of $443.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to income tax expense of $822.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $378.9 million, driven by a decrease in income before income taxes in the current period. Our effective tax rate was 22.4% in 2023 and 23.0% in 2022. Our effective tax rate was favorably affected in 2023 by the impact of federal and state tax credits on decreased tax expense.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Our primary capital requirements are to fund working capital needs and operating expenses, meet required interest and principal payments, and to fund capital expenditures and potential future growth opportunities. Our capital resources at December 31, 2023, consist of cash on hand and borrowing availability under our Revolving facility.

Our Revolving facility will be primarily used for working capital, general corporate purposes, and funding capital expenditures and growth opportunities. In addition, we may use the Revolving facility to assist debt consolidation. Availability under the Revolving facility is determined by a borrowing base. Our borrowing base consists of trade accounts receivable, inventory, other receivables which include progress billings and credit card receivables, and qualified cash that all meet specific criteria contained within the credit agreement, minus agent specified reserves. Net excess borrowing availability is equal to the maximum borrowing amount minus outstanding borrowings and letters of credit.

The following table shows our borrowing base and excess availability as of December 31, 2023, and 2022:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
(in millions)
Accounts receivable availability$923.8$841.1
Inventory availability920.81,064.7
Other receivables availability65.148.1
Gross availability1,909.71,953.9
Less:
Agent reserves(39.8)(64.7)
Plus:
Cash in qualified accounts13.310.9
Borrowing base1,883.21,900.1
Aggregate revolving commitments1,800.01,800.0
Maximum borrowing amount (lesser of borrowing base and aggregate revolving commitments)1,800.01,800.0
Less:
Outstanding borrowings(464.0)(264.0)
Letters of credit(70.3)(128.9)
Net excess borrowing availability on revolving facility$1,265.7$1,407.1

As of December 31, 2023, we had $464.0 million in outstanding borrowings under our Revolving facility and our net excess borrowing availability was $1.3 billion after being reduced by outstanding letters of credit of $70.3 million. Excess availability must

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equal or exceed a minimum specified amount, currently $180.0 million, or we are required to meet a fixed charge coverage ratio of 1:00 to 1:00. We were not in violation of any covenants or restrictions imposed by any of our debt agreements at December 31, 2023.

Liquidity

Our liquidity at December 31, 2023, was $1.3 billion, which consists of net borrowing availability under the Revolving facility and cash on hand.

Our level of indebtedness results in significant interest expense and could have the effect of, among other things, reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions. From time to time, based on market conditions and other factors and subject to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the Company may repurchase or call our notes, repay debt, or otherwise enter into transactions regarding its capital structure.

Should the current industry conditions deteriorate or we pursue additional acquisitions, we may be required to raise additional funds through the sale of capital stock or debt in the public capital markets or in privately negotiated transactions. There can be no assurance that any of these financing options would be available on favorable terms, if at all. Alternatives to help supplement our liquidity position could include, but are not limited to, idling or permanently closing additional facilities, adjusting our headcount in response to current business conditions, attempts to renegotiate leases, managing our working capital and/or divesting of non-core businesses. There are no assurances that these steps would prove successful or materially improve our liquidity position.

Consolidated Cash Flows

A discussion regarding our consolidated cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, is presented below. A discussion regarding our consolidated cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, can be found under Item 7 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023.

2023 Compared with 2022

Cash provided by operating activities was $2.3 billion in 2023 compared to cash provided by operating activities of $3.6 billion in 2022. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities was largely the result of a decrease in net income in 2023 of $1.2 billion.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the prior year ended December 31, 2022, the Company used cash to invest $0.3 billion less, primarily due to $0.4 billion less spent on acquisitions, offset by $0.1 billion more as a net investment in property, plant and equipment.

Cash used in financing activities was $1.7 billion in 2023 which consisted primarily of $1.8 billion in repurchases of common stock, partially offset by $0.2 billion in net borrowings on the Revolving facility. Cash used in financing activities was $2.6 billion for 2022 which consisted primarily of $2.6 billion in repurchases of common stock, $0.6 billion to redeem the outstanding 6.75% senior secured notes due 2027 (“2027 notes”), and net paydowns on the Revolving facility of $0.3 billion, offset by net proceeds from the issuance of $0.7 billion of 6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2032 (“6.375% 2032 notes”) and the issuance $0.3 billion of 4.25% senior unsecured notes due 2032 (“4.25% 2032 notes,” and together with the 6.375% 2032 notes, the “2032 notes”).

These transactions are described in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures vary depending on prevailing business factors, including current and anticipated market conditions. Historically, capital expenditures have, for the most part, remained at relatively low levels in comparison to the operating cash flows generated during the corresponding periods. We expect our 2024 capital expenditures to be in the range of $400 million to $500 million primarily related to rolling stock, equipment and facility expansion and improvements to support our operations.

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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Critical accounting policies are those that both are important to the accurate portrayal of a company’s financial condition and results, and require subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.

In order to prepare financial statements that conform to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our financial statements and accompanying notes. Certain estimates are particularly sensitive due to their significance to the financial statements and the possibility that future events may be significantly different from our expectations.

We have identified the following accounting policy that requires us to make the most subjective or complex judgments in order to fairly present our consolidated financial position and results of operations.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the amount we paid to acquire businesses over the estimated fair value of tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired, less liabilities assumed. At December 31, 2023, our goodwill balance was $3.6 billion, representing 33.9% of our total assets.

We test goodwill for impairment in the fourth quarter of each year or at any other time when impairment indicators exist. Examples of such indicators that could cause us to test goodwill for impairment between annual tests, include a significant change in the business climate, unexpected competition or a significant deterioration in market share. We may also consider market capitalization relative to our net assets. Housing starts are a significant sales driver for us. If there is a significant decline or an expected decline in housing starts, this could adversely affect our expectations for a reporting unit and the value of that reporting unit.

The process of evaluating goodwill for impairment involves the determination of the fair value of our reporting units. Our reporting units are aligned with our three geographical divisions which are also determined to be our operating segments. In evaluating goodwill for impairment, the Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If we conclude that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is not less than its carrying amount, then no further testing of the goodwill is required.

However, if we determine that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, we perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test. This test identifies both the existence of and the amount of goodwill impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill is not impaired. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

We assessed our goodwill balance at December 31, 2023, using a quantitative assessment. In performing the quantitative impairment test at December 31, 2023, we developed the fair value using a discounted cash flow methodology. Inherent in such fair value determinations are significant assumptions relating to future cash flows, expected future revenues, expected future profitability, the discount rate, the terminal value, and our interpretation of current economic indicators and market conditions and their impact on our strategic plans and operations. Due to the uncertainties associated with such estimates, interpretations and assumptions, actual results could differ from projected results, which could result in impairment of goodwill being recorded.

Significant information and assumptions utilized in estimating future cash flows for quantitative goodwill impairment analyses include projections of revenue growth utilizing publicly available industry information such as lumber commodity prices and housing start forecasts developed by industry forecasters, including the NAHB. Expected future profitability reflects current headcount levels and cost structure and are flexed in future years based upon historical trends at various revenue levels. Long-term growth was based on terminal value earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) multiples to reflect the relevant expected acquisition prices. The discount rate used is intended to reflect the weighted average cost of capital for a potential market participant and includes all risks of ownership and the associated risks of realizing the stream of projected future cash flows. Decreasing the long-term growth EBITDA multiple or increasing the discount rate would not have changed the results of our impairment testing.

At December 31, 2023, the fair values of each of our reporting units were substantially in excess of their respective carrying amounts. Factors that could negatively impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units and potentially trigger impairment include, but are not limited to, unexpected competition, lower than expected housing starts, an increase in market participant weighted average cost of capital, increases in material or labor cost, and/or significant declines in our market capitalization. Future impairment of goodwill would have the effect of decreasing our earnings or increasing our losses in such period but would not impact our current

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outstanding debt obligations or compliance with covenants contained in the related debt agreements. We did not have any goodwill impairments in 2023, 2022 or 2021.

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

Information regarding recent accounting pronouncements is discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

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