Toll Brothers is no Tiffany’s, experts say

In the wake of luxury home builder Toll Brothers’ surprising third-quarter report, which showed the company’s shares have climbed 6 percent since the last fiscal quarter, many market analysts are quick to compare the company to other luxury good purveyors that have thrived despite recessionary stress. But the Wall Street Journal’s Dawn Wotapka said it’s dangerous to compare Toll to luxe companies like Tiffany & Co. Despite that “general argument… that high-end consumers are faring better than the broader market,” builder analyst Stifel Nicolaus said, mass-market builders and a lack of discretionary products from Toll mean the company lacks maneuverability. “There is no “Breakfast at Toll,” Wotapka said, referring to the popular Audrey Hepburn film, noting that there no such thing as a Toll silver telephone dialer, either. [WSJ]