“The solid performance in the quarter is even more impressive as we were comparing against last year’s historic growth and faced a slower start to spring this year,” said CEO Ted Decker.
Updated at 6:10 am EST
Home Depot (HD) – Get Home Depot, Inc. Report posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings Tuesday, and boosted its full-year profit guidance, as the world’s biggest home retailer recorded record sales amid the still-elevated domestic housing market.
Home Depot said earnings for the three months ending in April, the company’s fiscal first quarter, were pegged at $4.09 per share, up 6% from the same period last year and firmly ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $3.68 per share. Group revenues, Home Depot said, rose 3.8% to $38.9 billion, but again topped analysts’ estimates of a $37.5 billion tally.
Same store sales were up 2.2% from last year, Home Depot said, soundly beating the Refinitiv forecast of 1.4%, while comparable sales in the U.S. were up 1.7%, a figure that also topped Street forecasts. Average tickets rose 11.4% $91.72 per trip), compared to a 12.4% growth rate in the final three months of last year.
Looking into the 2022 fiscal year, which ends next January, Home Depot said it sees ‘mid single digit’ earnings growth, up from its prior forecast of ‘low single digit’ gains, and comparable sales growth of around 3%.
“Fiscal 2022 is off to a strong start as we delivered the highest first quarter sales in company history,” said CEO Ted Decker. “The solid performance in the quarter is even more impressive as we were comparing against last year’s historic growth and faced a slower start to spring this year.”
“These results are a direct reflection of our associates’ continued ability to effectively navigate a challenging and dynamic environment,”
he added. “I would like to thank them and our many partners for their hard work and dedication to our customers.”
Dow component Home Depot shares were marked 4.4% in pre-market trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $309.05 each.
