ATLANTA, November 13, 2018 -- The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of $26.3 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2018, a 5.1 percent increase from the third quarter of fiscal 2017. Comparable sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 were positive 4.8 percent, and comp sales in the U.S. were positive 5.4 percent.
Net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 were $2.9 billion, or $2.51 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.2 billion, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2017. For the third quarter of fiscal 2018, diluted earnings per share increased 36.4 percent from the same period in the prior year.
“We are pleased with our third quarter results and the growth that we saw from both our professional and do-it-yourself customers. Our customers continue to respond to our expansive assortment and enhancements we are making to drive an interconnected shopping experience. We saw continued strength across the store, as well as healthy growth in our digital business,” said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. “We believe this is a testament to the overall strength of demand in the home improvement market.”
Updated Fiscal 2018 Guidance
Based on its year-to-date performance, the Company updated its fiscal 2018 guidance. The Company will have 53 weeks of operating results in fiscal 2018 and now expects:
- Sales growth of approximately 7.2 percent;
- Comp sales growth of approximately 5.5 percent for the comparable 52-week period;
- Operating margin of approximately 14.5 percent;
- Tax rate of approximately 24 percent;
- Fiscal 2018 share repurchases of approximately $8 billion;
- Diluted earnings-per-share growth of approximately 33.8 percent from fiscal 2017 to $9.75.
The Home Depot will conduct a conference call today at 9 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release and related matters. The conference call will be available in its entirety through a webcast and replay at http://ir.homedepot.com/events-and-presentations.
Recent Accounting Pronouncement – Revenue Recognition
During the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09, which pertains to revenue recognition. The adoption of this standard will not materially impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements or related disclosures.
The Company has adopted this standard on a modified retrospective basis. In accordance therewith, financial information prior to fiscal 2018 will not be recast. The consolidated statements of earnings and balance sheet for periods and dates subsequent to fiscal 2017 reflect the effect of this accounting policy adoption.
Additional information about the impact of the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 is available at http://ir.homedepot.com/financial-reports/quarterly-earnings/2018.
At the end of the third quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,286 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs more than 400,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.
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Certain statements contained herein constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, the demand for our products and services; net sales growth; comparable sales; effects of competition; implementation of store, interconnected retail, supply chain and technology initiatives; issues related to the payment methods we accept; state of the economy; state of the residential construction, housing and home improvement markets; state of the credit markets, including mortgages, home equity loans and consumer credit; demand for credit offerings; inventory and in-stock positions; management of relationships with our suppliers and vendors; continuation of share repurchase programs; net earnings performance; earnings per share; dividend targets; capital allocation and expenditures; liquidity; return on invested capital; expense leverage; stock-based compensation expense; commodity price inflation and deflation; the ability to issue debt on terms and at rates acceptable to us; the impact and expected outcome of investigations, inquiries, claims and litigation; the effect of accounting charges; the effect of adopting certain accounting standards; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; store openings and closures; guidance for fiscal 2018 and beyond; financial outlook; and the integration of acquired companies into our organization and the ability to recognize the anticipated synergies and benefits of those acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and our current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. You should not rely on our forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties – many of which are beyond our control or are currently unknown to us – as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended January 28, 2018 and in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update these statements other than as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information, contact:
Financial Community
Isabel Janci
Vice President of Investor Relations
770-384-2666
isabel_janci@homedepot.com
News Media
Stephen Holmes
Senior Director of Corporate Communications
770-384-5075
stephen_holmes@homedepot.com
