The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, has reported first quarter sales of $39.9 billion US for fiscal 2025, representing a 9.4% increase over the same period last year. The results, released today, align with company expectations as seasonal projects begin to ramp up across North America.
Comparable sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 decreased 0.3%, while U.S. comparable sales saw a modest increase of 0.2%. The company noted that foreign exchange rates negatively impacted total company comparable sales by approximately 70 basis points.
Net earnings for the quarter were $3.4 billion, or $3.45 per diluted share, compared with $3.6 billion, or $3.63 per diluted share, in the same quarter of fiscal 2024. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at $3.56, down from $3.67 year-over-year.
“Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations as we saw continued customer engagement across smaller projects and in our spring events,” said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. “We feel great about our store readiness and product assortment as spring continues to break across the country, and I would like to thank our associates for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Fiscal 2025 Guidance Reaffirmed
Despite a challenging retail landscape, The Home Depot reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance. The company is forecasting total sales growth of approximately 2.8% and comparable sales growth of approximately 1.0% for the comparable 52-week period, as fiscal 2024 included an extra week.
Key elements of the fiscal 2025 guidance include:
- Approximately 13 new store openings
- Gross margin of approximately 33.4%
- Operating margin of approximately 13.0%
- Adjusted operating margin of approximately 13.4%
- Tax rate of approximately 24.5%
- Net interest expense of approximately $2.2 billion
- Diluted earnings-per-share expected to decline approximately 3% from $14.91 in fiscal 2024
- Adjusted diluted earnings-per-share to decline approximately 2% from $15.24 in fiscal 2024
- Capital expenditures projected at approximately 2.5% of total sales
As of the end of Q1, The Home Depot operated 2,350 retail stores and more than 790 branches across all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, and Mexico. The company employs over 470,000 associates.
The Home Depot’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is a component of both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index.
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