indicator of potential home deliveries — a key driver of revenue for homebuilders.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: How new home orders and closings fared during the September-to-November quarter, a period when U.S. sales of new homes showed marginal improvement.

In addition, investors will be looking for indications on how the company sees demand shaping up ahead of the ramp-up to next year's spring home-selling season. December and January are typically among the slowest months for sales of new homes, but demand traditionally picks up in February and March.

KB Home's new home orders jumped by 40 percent compared with a year earlier in its fiscal third quarter, swelling its backlog entering the fourth quarter at 2,657 homes under contract. That represents an increase of 22 percent from the backlog at the end of the third quarter last year, when home sales slowed nationally after federal homebuyer tax credits expired.

An increase in the number of KB Home developments with houses available also helped drive the higher backlog.

Analysts estimate, on average, that KB Home's fourth-quarter new home orders will jump 35 percent, while home deliveries will inch up only about 1.6 percent, according to FactSet.

Sales of new homes climbed nationally in October and September after declining from May through August, as builders cut prices because of depressed demand. Figures on new home sales for November are due out on Friday.

Overall the sales pace remains behind last year's, which was the worst in half a century. Uncertainty over the economy, high unemployment and concerns that home prices have yet to hit bottom continue to keep many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines. Builders also are struggling to compete with foreclosures, which have made the price of re-sales more competitive.

The recent sales trends are making builders feel less pessimistic about coming months.

Still, tighter lending standards are keeping many potential buyers from purchasing new homes. Overall, the pace of new home sales this year has lagged last year's.

WHY IT MATTERS: While new homes sales represent a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

KB Home, based in Los Angeles, builds homes to order for entry-level, move-up buyers and seniors. It was ranked the fifth-largest homebuilder in the nation last year, by closings.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect KB Home will report a profit of 4 cents a share on revenue of $467.9 million.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: KB Home earned $100.7 million, or $1.31 a share, on revenue of $674.6 million. The results included a tax gain of $191.7 million. On a pretax basis, the builder lost $91 million as it abandoned land contracts and wrote down the value of joint ventures and inventory.