Appliance and storage were among the categories that helped return Home Depot to comparable-sales growth during a fourth quarter that saw the home improvement retailer top financial expectations.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter came in at $3 billion, or $3.02 per diluted share, versus $2.8 billion, or $2.82 per diluted share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for one-time events, the company reported, diluted earnings per share were $3.13, versus $2.86 in the year-prior quarter.
Zacks Investment Research called for earnings per adjusted diluted share of $3.04 and revenues of $39.14 billion.
Home Depot sales were $39.7 billion up 14.1% from the year-previous quarter as comparable sales increased 0.8%, and U.S. comps gained 1.3%. Operating income was $4.5 billion versus $4.14 billion in the year-before period.
Full year net earnings for fiscal 2024 were $14.81 billion, or $14.91 per diluted share, versus $15.14 billion, or $15.11 per diluted share, in the year earlier. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $15.24 versus $15.25 in the year prior, the company noted
Sales were $159.51 billion, up 4.5% from the year previous as overall and U.S. comps decreased 1.8% from the year previous. Operating income was $21.53 billion versus $21.69 billion in the year before.
In a conference call, Billy Bastek, Home Depot executive vice president of merchandising, said 10 of 16 of the company’s merchandising departments posted positive comps in the fourth quarter. These included appliances, indoor garden, lumber, power, building materials, paint, outdoor garden, storage, hardware and plumbing. Still, he said, Home Depot customers continue to be somewhat wary of discretionary purchases that rely on financing.
Ted Decker, Home Depot chair, president and CEO, said, “Our fourth-quarter results exceeded our expectations as we saw greater engagement in home improvement spend, despite ongoing pressure on large remodeling projects. Throughout the year, we remained steadfast in our investments across our strategic initiatives to position ourselves for continued success, despite uncertain macroeconomic conditions and a higher interest rate environment that impacted home improvement demand.”
