UPDATE: Home Depot Posts Upbeat Q3 Profit, Lifts Forecast

Home Depot

reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit and lifted its full-year forecast. Home Depot's quarterly net earnings surged to $947 million, or $0.63 per share, from $934 million, or $0.60 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, Home Depot earned $0.74 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.70 per share. Its sales climbed around 5% to $18.13 billion, while sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.2% globally. For the full year, Home Depot projects earnings of $3.03 per share and sales growth of 5.2%. The company had earlier expected earnings of $2.95 per share and sales growth of 4.6%. Home Depot shares closed at $61.16 yesterday.