Home Depot Inc.’s stock swung between gains and losses early Tuesday after the home-improvement retailer’s second-quarter earnings fell, but still beat estimates, it backed its guidance and announced a $15 billion share buyback program.
The Atlanta-based company
HD,
posted net income of $4.659 billion, or $4.65 a share, for the quarter, down from $5.173 billion, or $5.05 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales fell to $42.916 billion from $43.792 billion a year ago.
The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $4.45 and sales of $42.193 billion.
Same-store sales fell 2%, to beat the FactSet consensus for a 4.5% decline.
“While there was strength in categories associated with smaller projects, we did see continued pressure in certain big-ticket, discretionary categories,” CEO Ted Decker said in a statement. “We remain very positive on the medium-to-long term outlook for home improvement and our ability to grow share in a large and fragmented market.”
The average ticket rose 0.1% in the quarter to $90.07. Sales per retail square foot fell 2.3% to $684.65. Customer transactions fell 1.8% to 459.1 million in the period.
The company backed its full-year guidance for a decline in sales of 2%, a 5% decline in same-store sales and a decline in EPS of 7% to 13%.
It also announced a $15 billion share buyback program.
The stock has gained 4.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has gained 17% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
which counts Home Depot as a member, has gained 6%.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
