Home Depot Q2 Profit Beats Street; Revises FY14 EPS View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. (HD) posted higher second-quarter net earnings of $2.1 billion, or $1.52 per share, compared with $1.8 billion, or $1.24 per share, in the same period of fiscal 2013. On average, 28 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.45 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The firm clocked $23.81 billion in sales for the recent quarter, a 5.7 percent increase from the prior year's $22.52 billion. Analysts estimated revenues of $23.61 billion for the period. Comparable-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 were positive 5.8 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 6.4 percent.

For fiscal 2014, Home Depot continues to expect sales to grow nearly 4.8 percent from fiscal 2013. Looking ahead, the company raised its fiscal 2014 earnings-per-share view and now expects earnings per share to be up around 20.2 percent to $4.52 for the year. This earnings-per-share outlook includes the benefit of the firm's year-to-date share repurchases of $3.5 billion and its plan to buy back an additional $3.5 billion of shares over the remainder of the year.