Home Depot 1Q Revenue Beats Expectations as Profit Falls Short

By Matt Grossman

The Home Depot Inc. on Tuesday reported higher revenue year over year for its first fiscal quarter, but its profit was reduced by employee expenses related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Georgia-based chain of home-improvement stores recorded net earnings in the period of $2.25 billion, or $2.08 a share, compared with $2.51 billion, or $2.27 a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected net earnings of $2.30 a share.

Home Depot's revenue was $28.26 billion, up from $26.38 billion for the first quarter of 2019. Analysts were expecting revenue of $27.56 billion.

Chief Executive Craig Menear said the company's business responded effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The robust and flexible interconnected infrastructure that we have invested in for over a decade allowed us to quickly adapt to changing customer preferences and achieve strong sales performance in the quarter," Mr. Menear said.

Granting hourly workers paid time off and weekly bonuses, doubling overtime bonuses and extending dependent-care benefits created an $850 million pretax expense, according to Home Depot.

The company withdrew its guidance for the full fiscal year, citing economic uncertainty from the pandemic.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2020 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)

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