October 1, 2026
Home Depot's third quarter was mixed with fewer violent storms reaching shore, more anxiety among U.S. consumers, and a housing market that is in a deep funk.
The company lowered its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings forecast but raised its expectations for sales growth.
For the three months ended Nov. 2, Home Depot earned $3.6 billion, or $3.62 per share. A year earlier, it earned $3.65 billion, or $3.67 per share.
Removing one-time charges and benefits, earnings were $3.74 per share, a dime short of Wall Street expectations, according to a poll by FactSet.
It is the third consecutive quarter that Home Depot, an overperformer in recent years, has missed profit expectations.
Home Depot's stock declined more than 3% before the opening bell on Tuesday. Shares of rival Lowe's, which will report its quarterly results on Wednesday, fell more than 2%.
“Our results missed our expectations primarily due to the lack of storms in the third quarter, which resulted in greater than expected pressure in certain categories,” CEO Ted Decker said in a statement. “Additionally, while underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize. We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand.”
Revenue for the Atlanta company rose to $41.35 billion from $40.22 billion, topping Wall Street projections of $41.15 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, increased 0.2%. In the U.S., comparable store sales edged up 0.1%.
Customer transactions fell 1.4% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent rose to $90.39 per average receipt from $88.65 in the year-ago period.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said that Home Depot's quarter was negatively impacted by external factors, not missteps made by the company. Americans who have grown more anxious over the economy were definitely a contributor, he said.
“The summer months were particularly challenging in this regard as consumers were actively making choices over how to spend their money, and home improvement took something of a back seat to experiences, travel, and personal indulgences,” he said.
Home Depot now anticipates fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings will decline approximately 5% from fiscal 2024’s $15.24 per share. It previously expected adjusted earnings would fall about 2% from its results in the prior fiscal year.
The chain now foresees fiscal 2025 sales growth of about 3%. Its prior forecast was for sales growth of approximately 2.8%. The company predicts comparable sales growth will be slightly positive. Previously, it predicted comparable sales growth of about 1%.
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