So when, as one analyst put it, Beazer "again lived down to expectations" (profit 18% lower, from £39.8m to £32.8m on turnover of £350m), Persimmon's share price dropped 18.5p to 282p.
It kept falling, and stood at 270p earlier this week. On the other hand, Beazer's price only slipped 6p to 193p.
Although the poor result won't have taken Persimmon by surprise, it seems the City will need a little more convincing that Persimmon and Beazer can make a go of it.
Rumours still persist that at least two more housebuilding mergers are in the pipeline. The identities of the companies involved are uncertain, but two of them are thought to be Miller Homes and Wilson Connolly.
Meanwhile, major contractors carried on their merry way with shares generally better than last week.
