Business
Home Depot stock rises 4% as retailer maintains full-year forecast
General view of a Home Depot store in Midtown Manhattan on February 26, 2025 in New York City.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez | Corbis News | Getty Images
Home Depot stuck by its full-year outlook on Tuesday, even as the company came in slightly shy of Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings and revenue.
The home improvement retailer reiterated that it expects full-year total sales to grow by 2.8% and comparable sales, which take out the impact of one-time factors like store openings and calendar differences, to rise about 1%.
However, it missed Wall Street’s earnings expectations for the second straight quarter.
Shares of Home Depot rose about 4% in early trading.
Here’s what Home Depot reported for the fiscal second quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.68 adjusted vs. $4.71 expected
- Revenue: $45.28 billion vs. $45.36 billion expected
In the three-month period that ended Aug. 3, Home Depot’s net income was $4.55 billion, or $4.58 per share, down slightly from $4.56 billion, or $4.60 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose almost 5% from $43.18 billion in the year-ago period. Adjusting for one-time items, including related to the value of intangible assets, Home Depot reported earnings of $4.68 per share.
The report is Home Depot’s first since May 2014 to fall short on both earnings and revenue expectations.
Home Depot’s results reflect that the company is still waiting for a greater pickup in home improvement activity, whether spurred on by higher housing turnover, lower mortgage rates or consumers’ own shift in mentality.
In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said the company continues to see the effects of a “deferral mindset” from homeowners, which began in roughly mid-2023.
Still, McPhail said, there are encouraging signs in the retailer’s business: Big-ticket transactions, which the company defines as over $1,000, rose 2.6% compared with the year-ago quarter. Twelve of its 16 merchandising departments posted year-over-year sales gains. And year-over-year sales trends improved in each month of the quarter, with comparable sales up 0.3% in May, 0.5% in June and 3.3% in July, he said.
“We absolutely saw momentum continue to build in our core categories throughout the quarter,” he said.
McPhail said Home Depot’s fiscal 2025 outlook does not factor in potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, which could spur borrowing for homebuying and bigger projects.
“We don’t embed any point of view on the rate environment changing, nor on the demand for large projects changing,” he said.
On the company’s earnings call, CEO Ted Decker said “some relief on mortgage rates, in particular, could help.” But he added that’s not the only factor on consumers’ minds when Home Depot surveys its customers and pros.
“The No. 1 reason for deferring the large project is general economic uncertainty,” he said. “That, you know, is larger than prices of projects, of labor availability, all the various things we’ve talked about in the past by a wide margin.”
Betting on the pros
As the real estate market remains sluggish and borrowing costs remain high, Home Depot has looked beyond the homeowners who come to its stores to buy kitchen appliances, cans of paint or other supplies for do-it-yourself projects. Home Depot acquired SRS Distribution, a company that sells supplies to roofing, landscaping and pool professionals, for $18.25 billion last year. It announced in June that it was buying GMS, a specialty building products distributor, for about $4.3 billion. The GMS deal is expected to close by the end of Home Depot’s fiscal year in late January, according to Home Depot.
McPhail said about 55% of Home Depot’s sales come from pros and about 45% comes from do-it-yourself customers, when including SRS.
Comparable sales increased 1% across the business and 1.4% in the U.S. during the fiscal second quarter. Home Depot said foreign exchange rates negatively impacted the company’s comparable sales by about 0.4%.
That comparable sales growth marks only the second quarter out of the last 11 that Home Depot has reported year-over-year improvement — marking its strongest performance in more than two years.
For the fiscal second quarter, McPhail said year-over-year sales on both the pro side and DIY side of the business grew. He declined to share percentage increases, but said those increases were “relatively in line with one another.”
Home Depot saw strength in categories that tend to be popular with pros, such as lumber, concrete and decking, said Billy Bastek, executive vice president of merchandising, on the company’s earnings call. On the do-it-yourself side of the business, seasonal products like grills and live goods from the gardening category did well, he said.
Online sales rose about 12% from the year-ago quarter, Bastek said. He attributed some of that to the company’s faster delivery speeds.
Tariffs have added uncertainty to the outlook for retailers, though. McPhail told CNBC in May that Home Depot did not plan to hike prices across its store, even as other retailers, including Walmart, warned that tariff-related costs would be too much to absorb.
Since May, however, U.S. tariff policies have changed. Higher tariffs began in early August on dozens of U.S. trading partners. Other major agreements remain in flux. President Donald Trump last week delayed higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods for another 90 days as negotiations continue.
McPhail told CNBC that Home Depot hasn’t changed its pricing approach. And, he said, most of its imported products sold in the quarter landed ahead of tariffs.
Home Depot’s customer base tends to be on stronger financial footing than U.S. consumers overall, which could help the company weather sustained higher costs. About 90% of its do-it-yourself customers own their own homes and the home pros who shop with Home Depot tend to get hired by homeowners.
Customer transactions across Home Depot’s website and stores fell in the quarter to 446.8 million compared with the 451 million in the year-ago period. Yet shoppers spent slightly more during those transactions, with the average ticket rising to $90.01 from an average ticket of $88.90 in the year-ago period. Those metrics exclude results from acquisitions SRS and HD Supply, the company said.
Home Depot’s shares ended Monday at $394.70. As of Monday’s close, the company’s shares are up roughly 1.5% so far this year. That trails the nearly 10% gain of the S&P 500 during the same period.
– CNBC’s Robert Hum contributed to this report.
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Gold prices in Pakistan Today – April 20, 2026 | The Express Tribune
Gold and silver prices declined in both international and domestic markets, reflecting a broader downward trend in precious metals.
In the international bullion market, the price of gold fell by $49 per ounce, settling at $4,788.
According to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), in the local market, gold prices also recorded a significant drop. The price per tola decreased by Rs4,900 to reach Rs501,162. Similarly, the price of 10 grams of gold declined by Rs4,201, settling at Rs429,665.
Silver prices also followed a downward trajectory. The price per tola of silver fell by Rs145 to Rs8,417 while the price of 10 grams of silver dropped by Rs124, reaching Rs7,216.
Read More: Gold, silver prices rise again in local and international markets
Gold and silver prices recorded an increase on Saturday in both international and local markets after declining on Friday, following a three-day upward trend in global and domestic markets.
According to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), in the international bullion market, the price of gold rose by $45 per ounce to reach $4,837. In the local market, the price of gold per tola increased by Rs4,500 to Rs506,062, while the rate for 10 grams rose by Rs3,858 to Rs433,866.
Silver prices also moved higher, with the per tola rate increasing by Rs118 to Rs8,562. Similarly, the price of silver per 10 grams rose by Rs101 to Rs7,340.
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Stocks to buy: What’s the outlook for Nifty for April 20-April 24 week? Check list of top stock recommendations – The Times of India
Stock market recommendations: APL Apollo Tubes, and HDFC Asset Management Company are Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical Research and Derivatives, SBI Securities’ top stock picks for this week. Below are his stock picks and also views on Nifty.Nifty ViewThe benchmark index Nifty continues to inch higher; however, this phase of the rally is notably different, as the spotlight has shifted away from the headline index. While Nifty has extended its pullback rally for the second consecutive week and closed in the green, the real strength is emerging beneath the surface. The broader markets have taken the lead, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 delivering a robust rally and clearly outperforming the frontline index. Both indices have decisively moved above their key moving averages, signalling trend strength, whereas Nifty is still trading below its 100day and 200day EMA. Most importantly, Nifty Midcap 100 is now just a short distance away from its alltime high, suggesting that the next leg of opportunity may be unfolding beyond the conventional largecap space.Focusing back on Nifty, the index has been sustaining above its 50day EMA for the last three trading sessions, while the 20day and 50day EMA have started to edge higher, reflecting improvement in the shortterm trend. Meanwhile, the downward momentum in the 100day and 200day EMA has slowed considerably, indicating a stabilisation in the mediumterm structure. Momentum indicators further support the constructive bias, with the daily RSI trading above the 57 mark and moving higher, and the daily MACD histogram signalling strong bullish momentum.Collectively, these technical factors suggest that the pullback rally is likely to continue in the short term. On the upside, the 24650–24700 zone is expected to act as a crucial hurdle for the index. A sustainable breakout above 24700 could lead to an extension of the pullback rally towards 25000, followed by 25200 in the near term. On the downside, the 24050–24000 zone will serve as immediate support, and as long as the index remains above the 24000 mark, the ongoing pullback rally is likely to stay intact.Bank Nifty ViewThe banking benchmark Bank Nifty also ended the week on a positive note, indicating the continuation of its ongoing pullback rally. However, over the last three trading sessions, the index has struggled to decisively cross its 200day EMA, suggesting a phase of consolidation near a key long-term resistance zone. This price behaviour reflects hesitation at higher levels and points towards a pause in momentum after the recent recovery.This consolidation largely indicates a degree of caution among market participants, as investors appear to be awaiting clarity on the Q4 earnings outcome of major banking heavyweights, namely ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. With both results scheduled over the weekend, the index is likely to witness a directional move post the earnings announcements, depending on earnings performance and management commentary.From a technical perspective, the index continues to maintain a constructive short-term setup, as it is trading above its 20day and 50day EMA, reflecting underlying strength. Momentum indicators remain supportive, with the daily RSI placed above the 55 level and trending higher, suggesting improving buying momentum and positive shortterm bias.Looking ahead, the 57000–57100 zone is expected to act as a crucial resistance area, as it coincides with both the prior swing high and the 100day EMA, making it an important supply zone. A sustainable move above 57100 could lead to a further extension of the pullback rally towards 57800, followed by 58500 in the short term. On the downside, the 55800–55700 zone is placed as an important support band, and any dip towards this region is likely to attract buying interest as long as the structure remains intact.Stock recommendations:APL Apollo TubesAPL Apollo Tubes has shown strong bullish intent after a 14.5% pullback from its early April lows near the 200-day EMA, indicating solid support at lower levels. The recent consolidation between 2072–1961 acted as a base, with the stock now delivering a decisive breakout on strong footing. A positive DI crossover on ADX signals clear buyer dominance, while the MACD nearing a move above the zero line with rising histogram bars points to strengthening momentum.The overall setup suggests the stock is well-positioned to extend its uptrend in the near term. Hence, we recommend to accumulate the stock in the zone of 2110-2090 with a stoploss of 2020. On the upside, it is likely to test the level of 2255 in the short term.HDFC Asset Management CompanyHDFC Asset Management Company has exhibited strong bullish momentum, closing Friday’s session with an impressive 4.89% gain. The stock has surged nearly 26% from its March lows, indicating robust buying interest. Momentum indicators remain firmly supportive, with RSI sustaining above 60, reflecting strength. Additionally, a positive DI crossover on ADX highlights clear buyer dominance, while rising MACD histogram bars with the MACD line above the zero mark further reinforce the ongoing uptrend. The overall structure suggests the stock is well-positioned to extend its upward trajectory. Hence, we recommend to accumulate the stock in the zone of 2800-2770 with a stoploss of 2690. On the upside, it is likely to test the level of 2990 in the short term.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
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