Home Depot Q2 profit falls 7%, edges Wall Street

Atlanta Home Depot said Tuesday that its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 7%, but adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations.

The company, which shuttered its Expo business and continued to be pinched by the recession, earned $1.12 billion for the period ended Aug. 2, down from $1.2 billion a year earlier.

Revenue dropped 9% to $19.07 billion, falling short of the $19.23 billion forecast of analysts polled.

Same-store sales slid 8.5%. Cost-cutting helped results, as the company said total operating expenses fell 8% to $4.56 billion, from $4.92 billion a year ago.

"Our business performed well in a down market, we captured market share and drove operating productivity," chairman and CEO Frank Blake said in a statement.

Results were better than those of rival Lowe's Cos., which aday earlier reported second-quarter profit fell 19%, missing expectations, on weaker-than-expected sales.