As it rides a wave of home improvement projects sweeping the United States, Home Depot enjoyed a tidy third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates for earnings and revenue.
Comparable sales gained 6.1%, as comps in the U.S. advanced 5.5% in the quarter year over year, the company stated.
Home Depot posted net sales of $36.82 billion for the third quarter, up 9.8% from the year-prior period. Operating income was $5.8 billion versus $4.85 billion in the year-previous period.
Craig Menear, chairman and CEO, speaking in a conference call, said “Home improvement demand remains strong. Our customers remain engaged with products around the home. We continue to see customers taking on larger home improvement projects as evidence by the continued strength with our pro customers, which once again outpaced the DIY customer.”
He added, “We had positive comps every week despite unprecedented compares last year, and grew sales by $3.3 billion in the third quarter.”
All 19 U.S. regions posted positive comps in the quarter, Menear said. Although facing challenges including supply chain disruption and a tight labor market, Home Depot will continue to focus on providing a strong value proposition to customers, building depth in important product categories and efficiently flowing products to distribution centers and stores, he noted.
Beyond present circumstances, Home Depot is investing to boost store productivity, enhance the omnichannel shopping experience and optimize logistics to improve delivery capabilities.
“As evidenced by our strong performance in the quarter, our team continues to do an outstanding job of operating with flexibility and agility,” Minear added. “Ultimately, this is what has allowed us to respond to the elevated home improvement demand that has persisted.”
At third quarter’s end, Home Depot operated 2,317 retail stores in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico, including 14 stores from a small acquisition completed during the second quarter of fiscal 2021.
