The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) reported Q4 2019 earnings, beating analyst estimates and also announced a 10% increase in the dividend.
Sales for the world’s largest home improvement retailer were $25.8 billion for the quarter which was above Wall Street expectations of $25.78 billion.
Home Depot sales were down 2.7% on the quarter compared to the same quarter the previous year however the quarter the previous year included an extra week of operations. On a comparable basis sales were up 5.2% year over year.
For the full year 2019 the company saw sales grow 1.9% over 2018 results, which exceeded the company’s expectations per previous earnings reports. Given that the two previous quarters of 2019 had missed the company’s expectations, the return to healthier growth should be a sign of confidence for investors.
On the bottom line, the company posted earnings of $2.28 per share which beat consensus estimates of $2.11 per share.
The company also provided their outlook for the coming year, expecting sales growth of between 3.5% to 4% and earnings per share growth of approximately 2%.
Even though several quarters last year didn’t live up to the company’s growth expectations, Home Depot stock performed in line with the market over 2019, returning 30.5% compared to 31.5% returns on the S&P 500. Thus far this year, the stock is up 12%. In pre-market trading after releasing earnings the stock was up 2.5% as of the time of publishing.
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