The Home Depot reports an 8.4% rise in Q2 sales

The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of $30.5 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2018, an 8.4 percent increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 were positive 8.0 percent, and comp sales in the U.S. were positive 8.1 percent.

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 were $3.5 billion, or $3.05 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.7 billion, or $2.25 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2017. For the second quarter of fiscal 2018, diluted earnings per share increased 35.6 percent from the same period in the prior year.

“We were very pleased with our record second quarter sales and earnings. Not only did our seasonal business rebound from the first quarter, but our overall results exceeded our expectations,” said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. “These results exemplify the outstanding execution of our combined team of store associates, merchants, suppliers and supply chain.”

Updated Fiscal 2018 Guidance

Based on its year-to-date performance, the Company updated its fiscal 2018 sales growth guidance and now expects sales will be up approximately 7.0 percent including the 53rd week, with comp sales growth of approximately 5.3 percent for the comparable 52-week period. The Company also raised its diluted earnings-per-share growth guidance for the year and now expects diluted earnings-per-share growth of approximately 29.2 percent from fiscal 2017 to $9.42. The Company’s diluted earnings-per-share growth guidance includes $6 billion of share repurchases for fiscal 2018.

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 http://ir.homedepot.com/events-and-presentations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncement – Revenue Recognition

During the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09, which pertains to revenue recognition. The adoption of this standard will not materially impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements or related disclosures.

The Company has adopted this standard on a modified retrospective basis. In accordance therewith, financial information prior to fiscal 2018 will not be recast. The consolidated statements of earnings and balance sheet for periods and dates subsequent to fiscal 2017 reflect the effect of this accounting policy adoption.

Additional information about the impact of the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 is available at http://ir.homedepot.com/financial-reports/quarterly-earnings/2018. 

At the end of the second quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,286 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs more than 400,000 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 Press Release

Image : Rob Wilson / Shutterstock.com (180692453)

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