Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) shares fell this morning despite reporting better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based home improvement retailer reported earnings of $3.43 billion, or $3.18 per share for the three-month period ended November 1, as compared to $2.77 billion, or $2.53 per share in the same period last year. The profit was in line with the consensus forecast.
Revenue for the quarter came in at $33.54 billion, up 23.2 percent from the year-ago quarter, and above analysts’ average estimate of $31.83 billion. The surge in revenue was mainly driven by higher demand during the pandemic, as more people spent on home improvements during the lockdown.
Speaking on the results, Chief Executive Officer Craig Menear said “the third quarter was another exceptional quarter for The Home Depot as we saw the continuation of outsized demand for home improvement projects, which has led to sales growth of more than $15 billion through the first nine months of the year."
Home Depot said its overall same-store sales jumped 24.1 percent in the quarter, leaving behind the consensus estimate of 17.2 percent growth. Comparatively, same-store sales in the U.S. increased 24.6 percent, while analysts on average were looking for a growth of 19.3 percent.
The company revealed its plans to spend $1 billion on increased employees benefits on annual basis, besides the $1.7 billion in benefits it already approved earlier this year due to the pandemic. Home Depot previously introduced temporary programs such as weekly incentives and extended paid leaves in response to the Covid-19.
Home Depot (HD) is currently trading on heavy volume of 6.7 million shares, versus the daily average volume of 3.57 million shares. The company has a market value of approx. $306.801 billion, while its P/E ratio stands at 24.96.
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