Home Depot earnings top estimates fueled by 9.8% jump in sales as consumers fix up homes

Home Depot on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ revenue as customers spent more on home improvement projects. 

Shares of the company rose less than 1% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $3.92 vs. $3.40 expected
• Revenue: $36.82 billion vs. $35.01 billion expected

The home improvement retailer reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $4.13 billion, or $3.92 per share, up from $3.43 billion, or $3.18 per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting earnings per share of $3.40.

Net sales rose 9.8% to $36.82 billion, topping expectations of $35.01 billion. Same-store sales climbed 6.1% in the quarter, beating StreetAccount estimates of 2.2%. The retailer faced tough comparisons to a year ago, when its same-store sales were soaring, thanks to consumers taking on more do-it-yourself projects.

A strong housing market has helped Home Depot and rival Lowe’s. Demand has been rising from home professionals, helping to offset lower demand from do-it-yourself projects.

This quarter, customer transactions fell by 5.5% to 428.2 million. But consumers were spending more when they did visit, raising average ticket by 12.9% to $82.38.

Read the full earnings release here.