Home Depot Sales Performance Signals Strong Housing Market

Same store sales rose 5.2% in the fourth quarter, above 4.8% expectations.

Home Depot Inc. has beaten its sales and profit estimates for Q4 2019, owing to strong job growth and solid U.S. housing market, according to Reuters.

The company’s net sales fell 2.7% to $25.78 billion, exceeding analysts’ $25.76 billion expectations. Net earnings rose to $2.48 billion, or $2.28 per share, from $2.34 billion, or $2.09 per share, a year earlier. Shares of the company’s stock rose by 3.1% to $247 in premarket trading on February 20th, 2020.

“Our fourth quarter results reflect strength in our core business, solid execution around our holiday events and the overall health of the consumer,” said Home Depot Chief Executive Officer Craig Menear.

Same-store sales at Home Depot rose 5.2% in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2, above expectations of a 4.8% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The strong rise in sales also indicates that investments in the marriage of Home Depot’s online and brick-and-mortar businesses is staring to pay off, boding well for this fiscal year, Jefferies analysts wrote.