News Summary: Home Depot profit climbs
News Summary: Home Depot 3Q results top Street on strength at US stores, raises 2013 forecast
THE NEWS: Home-improvement retailer Home Depot's fiscal third-quarter profit climbed as sales at its U.S. stores strengthened amid the improvement of the housing market. Results beat analysts' estimates and the chain also lifted its full-year forecast again on Tuesday. Its shares briefly touched an all-time high.
THE CONTEXT: Home improvement companies have been benefiting from record-low interest rates and rising home prices, spurring customers to spend more to renovate their homes.
STRONG SALES: In the third quarter, the Atlanta chain reported that sales at stores open at least a year, a key retail metric, rose 7.4 percent. In the U.S., that figure increased 8.2 percent.
