RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Home Depot on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines and reaffirmed its full fiscal year guidance.
"We continue to operate in what I call 'frozen housing market' conditions, but we also know that we're taking share and that we're serving our customers better every day," CFO Richard McPhail told CNBC. "It's a reflection of the continued investment we've made and the focus on executing our strategy."
McPhail said Home Depot saw "broad engagement" across its categories, including in both its pro and do-it-yourself businesses, but the greater uncertainty in the market led the company to reaffirm rather than raise its guidance.
He added that Home Depot's customer is "a healthy cohort," though he said the company has still not seen consumers return to big projects.
"They've told us they have the means to spend, they're just hesitant," he told CNBC. "While we're happy with their level of engagement in the first half, they do tell us they're worried about inflation, about fuel costs and about about general uncertainty, and so there is a little bit of hesitancy there as the project gets bigger."
Here's how Home Depot performed in its second fiscal quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
The home improvement retailer reported net income of $4.77 billion, or $4.79 per share, compared with $4.55 billion, or $4.58 per share, the year prior. Excluding one-time items, Home Depot reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.92.
Home Depot saw comparable sales rise 1.7%, beating expectations that they would be up 0.9%, according to StreetAccount. McPhail said it is the highest comparable sales number the company has posted since the third fiscal quarter of 2022.
Home Depot also reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance, which it said includes tariff refunds that are "expected to partially offset unplanned fuel, energy, and other product input costs." McPhail added that the tariff refunds allow the retailer to "maintain value" despite cost pressures in other areas.
The company expects total sales growth for the year to be between 2.5% and 4.5% and operating margin between 12.4% and 12.6%.
"The story of the quarter is a story of share gain with the pro and the consumer, and we're confident that our investments are working to allow us to win in the market," McPhail said.
Home Depot has been pressured by lower housing turnover, higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty as customers have put off projects that come with buying a new home. Still, the company has been trying to attract more pro shoppers, a cohort that executives have previously said is largely unaffected by the macroeconomic conditions.
"We're focused on controlling what we can control," McPhail said. "We have been consistent through the years that in spite of a frozen housing environment, we're going to keep leaning into investment because we know that over the long run, conditions for home improvement demand are strong."
The company also announced last week that CEO Ted Decker is taking a "temporary medical leave of absence" for a few months. Ann-Marie Campbell, Home Depot's senior executive vice president of U.S. stores and operations, will oversee the day-to-day operations while McPhail will head the financial management and pro business, according to the company.
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