Shares in Home Depot (NYSE:HD) ticked higher on Wall Street after the US home improvement retailer posted forecast-beating Q2 results and reaffirmed FY26 guidance. The company continued to gain market share in Q2 despite a drag from the sluggish housing market across the pond.
| Share price: $340.6 (+0.8%) | Market cap: $337bn |
| PE 2027: 23.4x | Dividend yield 2027: 2.75% |
However, enthusiasm for the stock was tempered by the US comparable sales figure. Like-for-likes grew just 1.3% with customer transactions down 0.8% at 443.2 million. This meant the sales increase was driven by price hikes rather than rising volumes.
Q2 earnings beat
For the second quarter ended 2 August, the world’s largest home improvement retailer delivered a 5.7% year-on-year rise in revenue to $47.86 billion. That was better than the $47.27 billion Wall Street expected.
| Selected sales data | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Change (%) |
| Comparable sales | 1.7% | 1% | n/a |
| Customer transactions (in millions) | 443.2 | 446.8 | (0.8) |
| Average ticket ($) | 92.50 | 90.01 | 2.8 |
Source: Home Depot, Q2 results
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.92, ahead of the $4.73 analysts were calling for. Comparable sales crept up 1.7%, beating expectations for a 0.9% rise. This was the highest comparable sales figure Home Depot has delivered since Q3 of 2022.
Broad-based demand
‘Our second quarter results exceeded our expectations,’ said CFO Richard McPhail. ‘We saw broad-based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects.’
For FY26, Home Depot reiterated previous guidance for total sales growth in the 2.5% to 4.5% range. Comparable sales is forecast to be either flat or up 2%. The company also maintained guidance for an operating margin of between 12.4% and 12.6%.
Home Depot fired the starting pistol on a busy week for US retail reports with solid-enough results. But the fact that transactions were down is concerning.
This shows Home Depot continues to face stiff headwinds from lower housing turnover, higher mortgage rates and an increasingly hard-pressed US consumer.
Customers are deferring the big projects associated with new home purchases. And McPhail told business channel CNBC that the company continues to operate in ‘frozen housing market conditions’.
Prospective investors should also take heed of leadership uncertainty which may act as an overhang on the stock. Home Depot has announced that its well-regarded CEO Ted Decker is taking a temporary medical leave of absence for a few months.
For the time being Ann-Marie Campbell, senior executive vice president of U. stores and operations, will oversee the retailer’s day-to-day operations. And CFO Richard McPhail will head up the financial management and pro business.
