The Home Depot Reaffirms 2023 Guidance

The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of $42.9 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, a decrease of 2.0% from the second quarter of fiscal 2022. Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased 2.0%, and comparable sales in the U.S. decreased 2.0%. 

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 were $4.7 billion, or $4.65 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $5.2 billion, or $5.05 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2022. 

“We were pleased with our performance in the second quarter,” said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. “While there was strength in categories associated with smaller projects, we did see continued pressure in certain big-ticket, discretionary categories. We remain very positive on the medium-to-long term outlook for home improvement and our ability to grow share in a large and fragmented market. Our associates did an outstanding job delivering value and service for our customers throughout the quarter, and I would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work.” 

Fiscal 2023 Guidance

The company reaffirmed fiscal 2023 guidance:

• Sales and comparable sales to decline between 2% and 5% compared to fiscal 2022
• Operating margin rate to be between 14.3% and 14.0%
• Tax rate of approximately 24.5%
• Interest expense of approximately $1.8 billion
• Diluted earnings-per-share-percent-decline between 7% and 13% compared to fiscal 2022

Share Repurchase Authorization

The board of directors also authorized a new $15 billion share repurchase program effective August 15, 2023, replacing its previous authorization. 

The Home Depot will conduct a conference call today at 9 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release and related matters. The conference call will be available in its entirety through a webcast and replay at ir.homedepot.com/events-and-presentations.

At the end of the second quarter, the company operated a total of 2,326 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs over 470,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Source : The Home Depot

Image : Rob Wilson / shutterstock.com (180692453)

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