Home Depot earnings blow past estimates; sales rise 9.8%

The Home Depot reported strong third-quarter earnings and sales as consumers spent more money on fixing up their homes.

The home improvement giant’s net income rose to $4.13 billion, or $3.92 a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $3.43 billion, or $3.18 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had forecast earnings per share of $3.42.

Net sales increased 9.8% to $36.82 billion, easily topping estimates of $34.95 billion. Same-store sales grew 6.1%, well ahead of the 2.4% growth analysts had expected. U.S. comparable sales rose 5.5%, also more than expected.

Customer transactions dropped fell by 5.5% to 428.2 million. But the average purchase rose 12.9%, to $82.38. A similar scenario played out in Home Depot’s second quarter as customer transactions dropped 5.8% but the average ticket increased 11.3%. Second-quarter sales per square foot increased by 6.2%.

"As evidenced by our strong performance in the quarter, our team continues to do an outstanding job of operating with flexibility and agility," said Craig Menear, Home Depot chairman and CEO. "Ultimately, this is what has allowed us to respond to the elevated home improvement demand that has persisted. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our team, as well as our supplier, supply chain, and transportation partners, as we continue to navigate this dynamic environment together."

At the end of the third quarter, the retailer operated a total of 2,317 stores in all 50 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.