Home Depot notches record sales, reaffirms guidance (NYSE:HD)

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) reported record top and bottom line figures for the second quarter, outpacing analyst estimates.

The Atlanta-based specialty retailer posted $5.05 in earnings per diluted share and $43.8B in sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2022. Those figures came in above the analyst expectations of $4.93 and $43.33B, respectively. US comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 5.4% from the prior year, narrowly edging out analyst estimates set at 5.36% as well.

“In the second quarter, we delivered the highest quarterly sales and earnings in our company’s history,” CEO Ted Decker said. “Our performance reflects continued strength in demand for home improvement projects. Our team has done a fantastic job serving our customers, while continuing to navigate a challenging and dynamic environment.”

Despite still-present challenges, the company reaffirmed guidance for the full year that includes total sales growth and comparable sales growth of approximately 3%, operating margin of approximately 15.4%, and diluted EPS growth in the mid-single digits.

To be sure, there remained a concern on ballooning inventories. Per the company’s financial supplement, merchandise inventories rose to $26.09B, an over 35% jump from the prior year. The metric was also $6B more than analysts had anticipated. Additionally, the company’s cash holdings fell by over $1B in the fist two quarters of 2022.

Shares traded in a volatile fashion on very light volume in early premarket trading on Tuesday.

Read more on the details of the quarter.