Home Depot sales up, comps down
Atlanta-based The Home Depot reported a sales gain in the third quarter ended Oct. 27. Total sales hit $40.2 billion, up 6.6 percent from $37.7 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
However, the company’s comparable-store sales declined 1.8 percent. That figure marked the eighth consecutive quarter of negative comps for the world’s largest home improvement retailer.
"While macroeconomic uncertainty remains, our third quarter performance exceeded our expectations," said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. "As weather normalized, we saw better engagement across seasonal goods and certain outdoor projects as well as incremental sales related to hurricane demand.”
Net earnings for Home Depot in the third quarter were $3.6 billion. That’s down from $3.8 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
Big ticket comp transactions of a $1,000 or more were down 6.8% compared to the third quarter of last year. In the other direction, sales "leveraging our digital platforms" increased 4% compared to the same period a year ago, according to Executive Vice President of Merchandising Billy Bastek.
At the end of the third quarter, the company operated a total of 2,345 retail stores and over 780 branches of SRS Distribution, which it acquired in June of this year.
Decker said: “The immediate focus with SRS is supporting their growth both organically and through acquisitions. However, we are also seeing incremental cross-sale opportunities from our distinct product catalogs and competitive advantages.”
The company also adjusted upward its outlook for the fiscal year, which has improved partly because of the repair-and-rebuild impact of major hurricanes.
"While macro uncertainty remains and continues to pressure home improvement demand, our performance in the third quarter was better than expected," said Richard McPhail, CFO. "Our performance reflects hurricane-related sales in the third quarter, and we expect some hurricane-related sales in the fourth quarter."
Home Depot expects fully sales and comps of positive 4 percent and negative 2.5 percent, respectively. Previously, the company's outlook called for growth of only 2.5 to 3.5 percent; and comps of between negative 3 percent and negative 4 percent.
