Home Depot (HD) Q1 Earnings & Sales Top Estimates, Stock Rises
The Home Depot, Inc. HD has posted first-quarter fiscal 2021 results, wherein earnings and sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. The company gained from the continued strong demand for home-improvement projects as well as its ongoing investments.
Shares of the home-improvement retailer rose 2.2% in the pre-market session, following the better-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2021 results.
Moreover, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has risen 14.5% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 11.9%.
Q1 Highlights
The company’s earnings of $3.86 per share improved 85.6% from $2.08 registered in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04.
Net sales advanced 32.7% to $37,500 million from $28,260 million in the year-ago quarter and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $34,880 million. Sales benefited from the continued robust demand for home improvement projects.
The company is effectively adapting to the high-demand environment, driven by investments in its business over the years and the dedication of its associates to serve customers. Its overall comps grew 31%, with a 29.9% improvement in the United States.
In the reported quarter, comps were aided by a 10.3% rise in average ticket and a 19.3% increase in customer transactions. Moreover, sales per square foot rose 29.8%.
The Home Depot, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Home Depot, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Home Depot, Inc. Quote
In dollar terms, gross profit increased 32.4% to $12,742 million from $9,625 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily driven by robust sales growth. Meanwhile, gross profit margin was almost flat with the last year at 34%.
Operating income increased 76.5% to $5,781 million, while operating margin expanded 380 bps to 15.4%. Operating margin benefited from top-line growth as well as flat gross margin, offset by higher SG&A and other operating expenses.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Home Depot ended first-quarter fiscal 2021 with cash and cash equivalents of $6,648 million, long-term debt (excluding current maturities) of $34,697 million, and shareholders' equity of $1,748 million. In first-quarter fiscal 2021, it generated $6,310 million of net cash from operations.
In the fiscal first quarter, the company paid out cash dividends of $1,775 million and repurchased shares worth $3,788 million.
3 Better-Ranked Retail Stocks
Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. LL has a long-term earnings growth rate of 22.5% and it sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Tecnoglass Inc. TGLS, also a Zacks Rank #1 stock, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 20%.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18%. It presently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.
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