At a time of leadership transition, Home Depot continues to roll on with strong fourth quarter sales, comparable sales and earnings results.
Net earnings for the quarter were $3.35 billion, or $3.21 per diluted share, the company reported, compared with $2.86 billion, or $2.65 per diluted share, in the period a year before.
Home Depot topped a Yahoo Finance-published analyst average earnings per share estimate of $3.17 per diluted share and a sales estimate of $34.87 billion.
Sales were $35.72 billion, up 10.7% from the quarter a year before. Comparable sales increased 8.1% overall and 7.6% in the United States in the period year over year, Home Depot noted.
For the full year, net earnings were $16.43 billion, or $15.53 per diluted share, the company indicated, versus $12.87 billion, or $11.94 per diluted share, in fiscal 2020.
Sales were $151.16 billion, up 14.4% from the year before. Comps increased 11.4% overall and 10.7% in the U.S. year over year, Home Depot stated.
In his last conference call as CEO, Menear said relationships with supply chain partners, along with execution by Home Depot employees, have helped the company navigate a tough marketplace.
Ted Decker, who becomes Home Depot CEO and president on March 1, with Menear remaining chairman, said decor and storage were among the segments that comped higher than average in the fourth quarter, while appliances and garden were among those that comped below. However, all regions and merchandise departments were comp positive in the quarter, Decker said. Comp average ticket increased 12.3%, while comp transactions were down 3.8%, with inflation in some key product categories including lumber cited as the primary cause of the ticket gain. On a two-year basis, he said, both average ticket and transaction demonstrated healthy gains.
“Fiscal 2021 was another record year for The Home Depot,” Menear said. “We achieved a milestone of over $150 billion in sales. Our ability to grow the business by over $40 billion in the last two years is a testament to investments we have made in the business, our ability to execute with agility, and our associates’ relentless focus on our customers.”
