The Home Depot reported higher first-quarter sales as demand in seasonal and professional contractor categories helped offset continued pressure from cautious consumer spending and housing affordability concerns.
The home improvement retailer posted net income of $3.29 billion, or $3.30 per share, for the quarter ended May 3, down from $3.43 billion, or $3.45 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.43 per share, narrowly ahead of analyst expectations of $3.41.
Quarterly sales increased 4.8% to $41.77 billion, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of $41.52 billion.
Comparable sales rose 0.6% overall, with U.S. comparable sales up 0.4%. The company also recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in online comparable sales.
Customer transactions declined 1.3% during the quarter, although average ticket size increased to $92.76 from $90.71 in the prior-year period.
“The underlying demand in our business was relatively similar to what we saw throughout fiscal 2025, despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure,” stated Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO.
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Speaking on the company’s earnings call, Decker said Home Depot’s core customer remains in “reasonably good shape,” supported by homeownership levels, rising home equity and stock market gains. However, uncertainty around the economy continues to weigh on larger discretionary home improvement projects.
He also noted that housing turnover remains subdued, while new home construction starts and sales continue trending downward.
The Home Depot is also continuing to expand its professional contractor business through its SRS subsidiary. Last week, SRS completed its acquisition of Mingledorff’s, an HVAC equipment distributor serving residential and commercial customers through 42 locations across five Southeastern states.
“Mingledorff gives us an incredible opportunity to penetrate the national market for HVAC parts and supplies, leveraging the power of our enterprise to create a superior value proposition for the pro customer,” Decker said during the earnings call. “SRS can now serve more pros and win greater share of wallet in this highly fragmented market. As a reminder, pro represents a $700 billion market opportunity.”
Decker added that HVAC distribution represents an addressable market worth approximately $100 billion, increasing the company’s total addressable market opportunity to roughly $1.2 trillion.
Looking ahead, the retailer maintained its fiscal 2026 outlook, forecasting sales growth between 2.5% and 4.5%, with adjusted earnings per share expected to rise by as much as 4%.
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