Home Depot posts quarterly profit and revenue beats despite slowdown in same-store sales

US retailer Home Depot posted quarterly profit and revenue beats on Tuesday but also stated that fewer customers had visited its brick and mortar locations during the period than they had a year earlier amid a decline in lockdown-fuelled DIY activity.

Home Depot reported earnings per share of $4.53, ahead of the $4.44 expected by analysts, while revenues of $41.12bn also surpassed estimates for a print of $40.79bn.

Same-store sales were up 3.4% in the quarter, significantly lower than the 25% jump seen in the same quarter a year ago.

On an annualised basis, same-store sales rose 4.5% year-on-year, short of the 5% expected by analysts on the Street, while customer transactions fell 5.8% year-on-year. However, this was somewhat offset by an 11.3% increase in average ticket prices.

The home improvement retailer also failed to issue any full-year guidance alongside its quarterly results, stating the Covid-19 delta variant had brought about an amount of uncertainty into both the business and the wider economy.

As of 1320 BST, Home Depot shares were down 4.19% in pre-market trading at $321.0 each.