Home Depot Hammered Despite Solid Q4 Earnings

When Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD | HD Price Prediction) reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Tuesday, investors did not respond well despite the solid numbers. This very well could be due to headwinds from the broader markets.

The retailer said that it had $2.65 in earnings per share (EPS) and $32.3 billion in revenue. That compares with fiscal fourth-quarter consensus estimates of $2.62 in EPS on revenue of $30.73 billion, as well as the $2.28 per share and $25.78 billion posted in the same period of last year.

Comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 increased 24.5%, and comparable sales in the United States increased 25.0%.

Craig Menear, board chair and chief executive, commented:

We continue to lean into these investments because we believe they are critical in enabling market share growth in any economic environment. I am proud of the many ways our associates lived our values by serving our customers, communities and each other during these unquestionably challenging times, and I would like to thank them and our supplier partners for their extraordinary efforts.

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At the end of the fourth quarter, the company operated a total of 2,296 retail stores across its footprint, and it employs approximately 500,000 associates.

Excluding Tuesday’s move, Home Depot stock had underperformed the markets with a gain of 12% in the past 52 weeks. Year to date, the share price is 4% higher.

Home Depot stock traded down about 5% to $262.07 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $140.63 to $292.95. The consensus price target is $307.02.

The Nasdaq was down more than 1% on last look, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials were off fractionally.

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