The Home Depot Announces Second Quarter Results; Updates Fiscal Year 2012 Guidance

The Home Depot HD today reported second quarter of fiscal 2012 net earnings of $1.5 billion, or $1.01 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $1.4 billion, or $0.86 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2011. For the second quarter of fiscal 2012, diluted earnings per share increased 17.4 percent from the same period in the prior year. Sales for the second quarter totaled $20.6 billion, a 1.7 percent increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Comparable store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 were positive 2.1 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 2.6 percent. "As expected, second-quarter sales reflected the pull forward of seasonal activity into the first quarter. But we saw continued demand for core products and delivered second-quarter earnings above our expectations," said Frank Blake, chairman & CEO. "I would like to thank our associates for their hard work and commitment to our customers." Updated Fiscal 2012 Guidance The Company confirmed that it expects fiscal 2012 sales will be up approximately 4.6 percent from the prior year on a 53-week basis. Based on its year-to-date performance, the Company raised its fiscal 2012 diluted earnings-per-share guidance and now expects diluted earnings per share to be up approximately 19 percent to $2.95 for the year. This earnings-per-share guidance includes the benefit of the Company's year-to-date share repurchases and the Company's intent to repurchase $1.4 billion in additional shares over the remainder of the year. The Home Depot will conduct a conference call today at 9 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release and related matters. The conference call will be available in its entirety through a webcast and replay at earnings.homedepot.com. At the end of the second quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,255 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.