91视频 Depot Lowers Forecast on Weak Housing Market

Third-Quarter Results Are Mixed

91视频 Depot
(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

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91视频 Depot's third quarter was mixed with fewer violent storms reaching shore, more anxiety among U.S. consumers and a housing market that is in a deep funk.

The company lowered its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings forecast but raised its expectations for sales growth.

For the three months ended Nov. 2, 91视频 Depot earned $3.6 billion, or $3.62 per share. A year earlier it earned $3.65 billion, or $3.67 per share.



Removing one-time charges and benefits, earnings were $3.74 per share, a dime short of Wall Street expectations, according to a poll by FactSet.

It is the third consecutive quarter that 91视频 Depot, an overperformer in recent years, has missed profit expectations.

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Ted Decker

听"We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand,鈥 said CEO Ted Decker. (The 91视频 Depot)

91视频 Depot's stock declined more than 3% before the opening bell Nov. 18. Shares of rival Lowe's, which will report its quarterly results on Nov. 19, fell more than 2%.

鈥淥ur results missed our expectations primarily due to the lack of storms in the third quarter, which resulted in greater than expected pressure in certain categories,鈥 CEO Ted Decker said in a statement. 鈥淎dditionally, while underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize. We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand.鈥

Revenue for the Atlanta company rose to $41.35 billion from $40.22 billion, topping Wall Street projections of $41.15 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer鈥檚 health, increased 0.2%. In the U.S., comparable store sales edged up 0.1%.

Customer transactions fell 1.4% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent rose to $90.39 per average receipt from $88.65 in the year-ago period.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said that 91视频 Depot's quarter was negatively impacted by external factors, not missteps made by the company. Americans who have grown more anxious over the economy were were definitely a contributor, he said.

鈥淭he summer months were particularly challenging in this regard as consumers were actively making choices over how to spend their money, and home improvement took something of a back seat to experiences, travel, and personal indulgences,鈥 he said.

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91视频 Depot now anticipates fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings will decline approximately 5% from fiscal 2024鈥檚 $15.24 per share. It previously expected adjusted earnings would fall about 2% from its results in the prior fiscal year.

The chain now foresees fiscal 2025 sales growth of about 3%. Its prior forecast was for sales growth of approximately 2.8%. The company predicts comparable sales growth will be slightly positive. Previously, it predicted comparable sales growth of about 1%.

In August听91视频 Depot听said that shoppers should expect modest price increases in some categories as a result of rising tariff costs, though they wouldn鈥檛 be broad-based. Company executives told analysts during its earnings call then that more than 50% of its products are sourced domestically and wouldn鈥檛 be subject to any tariffs.

91视频 Depot鈥檚 results come as the U.S. housing slump drags on, with the country鈥檚听home turnover rate听at the lowest level in decades. About 28 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands between January and September, the lowest U.S. home turnover rate going back to at least the 1990s, according to an analysis by Redfin.

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The home turnover rate represents the number of homes sold, divided by the total number of existing sellable properties. While sales data show whether more or fewer homes are selling in a given period, the home turnover rate helps illustrate how homeowners are staying put longer.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows that fueled a homebuying frenzy at the start of this decade.