Home Depot breaks sales, earnings records in Q2

The world's largest home improvement retailer continued momentum from its strong first quarter in the second quarter of fiscal 2022.

The Home Depot reported sales of $43.8 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 6.5%, from the second quarter of fiscal 2021. Same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 5.8%, and same-store sales in the U.S. increased 5.4%.

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 were $5.2 billion, or $5.05 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $4.8 billion, or $4.53 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2021, representing an 11.5% increase in diluted earnings per share.

"In the second quarter, we delivered the highest quarterly sales and earnings in our company's history," said Ted Decker, CEO and president. "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. I would like to thank them and our many partners for their hard work and dedication to our customers."

The Home Depot’s net sales rose 3.8% to $38.91 billion in the quarter ended May 1, easily topping expectations of $36.71 billion and setting what was at the time a record for highest-ever net sales total.

[Read more: Home Depot posts strongest Q1 sales in its history; raises full-year outlook]

Fiscal 2022 guidance
The Home Depot reaffirmed fiscal 2022 guidance of:

• Total sales growth and comparable sales growth of approximately 3%.
• Operating margin of approximately 15.4%.
• Net interest expense of approximately $1.6 billion.
• Tax rate of approximately 24.6%.
• Diluted earnings-per-share-percent-growth to be mid-single digits

At the end of the second quarter, Atlanta-based The Home Depot Inc. operated a total of 2,316 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company employs approximately 500,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.