A ‘record year’ at Home Depot
The Home Depot (HD), based in Atlanta, reported record year sales and profits, but comp-store sales came in at negative 0.3 percent.
“Fiscal 2022 was another record year for The Home Depot as our team continued to successfully execute in a challenging and dynamic environment,” said Ted Decker, chairman and CEO.
The company reported that sales for fiscal 2022 were $157.4 billion, an increase of $6.2 billion, or 4.1%, from fiscal 2021.
[Read “Home Depot invests in associates.”]
Net earnings for fiscal 2022 were $17.1 billion, or $16.69 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $16.4 billion, or $15.53 per diluted share in fiscal 2021.
For Q4, Home Depot reported sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 were $35.8 billion, an increase of $112 million, or 0.3% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 were $3.4 billion, or $3.30 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.4 billion, or $3.21 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2021.
The 0.3 percent decline in fourth quarter comps marked the first quarterly comp-store-sales decline for Home Depot in more than a decade. In 2023, Home Depot is targeting approximately flat comp sales.
“Throughout most of fiscal 2022, we observed a resilient customer who was less price sensitive than we would have expected in the face of persistent inflation,” Decker said. “In the third quarter we noted some deceleration in certain products and categories, which was more pronounced in the fourth quarter. This, along with a negative impact from lumber deflation, led to fourth quarter comps that were slightly softer than anticipated.”
According to Executive Vice President Jeff Kinnaird, seven of the retailer's 14 merchandising departments posted positive comps in the fourth quarter. Leading the pack were the departments of building materials, plumbing, millwork, hardware, tools, outdoor garden, and paint — all of which had comps above the company average.
The Bottom Line: Home Depot sales for the year moved ahead more than 4% company-wide for 2022 to just over $157 billion.
What the CEO said: “Our ability to deliver growth on top of the $40 billion of sales growth achieved over the prior two-year period, while navigating persistent inflation, ongoing global supply chain disruptions, and a tight labor market, is a testament to investments we have made in the business, as well as our associates’ relentless focus on our customers,” said Decker.
Company info: Click HERE to read the Q4 and full year 2022 financial report from Home Depot.
At the end of the fiscal 2022, the company reported it operated a total of 2,322 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico, and employs approximately 475,000 associates.
