This morning, Home Depot (HD) reported earnings results for the second quarter of 2022. Both earnings per share (EPS) and earnings were company records and exceeded analyst expectations. HD reaffirmed its outlook for the rest of the fiscal year. As a result, the stock price he rose more than 3.6%, but the market fell slightly on the day.
Key highlights from Home Depot’s second quarter 2022 earnings report include:
- Diluted EPS of $5.05 grew 11.5% over the past year, beating estimates of $4.95 per share.
- Revenue of $43.8 billion, up 6.5% year-over-year and 1% above forecast.
- Total same-store sales increased 5.8% (analysts forecast 4.9% growth), and US same-store sales increased 5.4%.
Although the number of transactions at Home Depot stores actually decreased by 3%, the average transaction cost increased by 9.1%. Another positive to note is that HD operating profit growth of 8.6% outperformed revenue growth by 210 basis points, demonstrating operating leverage.
For its fiscal 2022 outlook, The Home Depot expects revenue and comparable store sales growth of approximately 3% and diluted EPS growth in the mid-single-digit range. The company also expects an operating margin of 15.4%, in line with the margin it achieved in fiscal 2021.
Home Depot continues to perform well despite declining website traffic
As previously mentioned, the number of transactions at The Home Depot stores decreased 3% year-over-year. This is SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s largest website usage monitoring service. According to this data, website traffic in the second quarter decreased by 10.8% year-over-year.
But Home Depot is still achieving solid sales growth. This highlights the importance of finding companies with strong pricing power that can pass costs on to consumers to offset other headwinds.
Buy or Sell Home Depot Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, Home Depot stock is coming in as a moderate buy based on 16 buys and 6 holds allocated over the past three months. An average HD stock price target of $345.76 implies a 6.8% upside potential.
Bottom Line: Strong Results Make HD Stocks Worth Considering
Home Depot delivered stronger-than-expected earnings, reaffirming its guidance and allaying investors’ common fears of a negative outlook revision. Because of this, his stock is up more than 3.6% today, outpacing the entire US market, which is currently in the red. Home Depot’s price target doesn’t offer much upside potential, but analysts are bullish nonetheless. With its long-term consistency, strong brand strength, and earnings power, Home Depot is a solid stock for investors to consider.
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