Home Depot beats Q2 earnings estimates but revenues miss mark

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) beat market expectations for earnings in the second quarter of 2019 but revenues came in shy of estimates. Shares were up 1.2% in premarket hours on Tuesday.

Total sales inched up 1.2% to $30.8 billion from the same period last year, but fell short of estimates of $31.05 billion. Total comparable sales grew 3% while comparable sales in the US grew 3.1%. Sales results reflect a shift in the fiscal calendar base due to 53 weeks of sales in 2018.

Net income remained flat year-over-year at $3.5 billion. Diluted EPS grew 3.9% to $3.17 versus last year, beating estimates of $3.09.  

Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President, said, “We are encouraged by the momentum we are seeing from our strategic investments and believe that the current health of the US consumer and a stable housing environment continue to support our business. That being said, lumber prices have declined significantly compared to last year, which impacts our sales growth. As a result, today we are updating our sales guidance to account primarily for continued lumber price deflation, as well as potential impacts to the US consumer arising from recently announced tariffs. We are reaffirming our earnings-per-share growth guidance for fiscal 2019.”

During the quarter, customer transactions remained flat year-over-year at 455.5 million. Average ticket grew 1.7% to $67.31 while sales per square foot rose 1.1% to $509.55 versus the prior-year period.    

At the end of the second quarter, Home Depot operated a total of 2,291 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. 

Home Depot updated its guidance for fiscal 2019, a 52-week year compared to fiscal 2018, a 53-week year, and now expects sales to grow approx. 2.3% and comp sales to grow approx. 4%. The company reaffirmed its outlook for EPS, which is expected to grow around 3.1% to $10.03.

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