Home Depot sales improve

Relatively slow home sales and sluggish demand for do-it-yourself projects kept pressure on Home Depot, though the Atlanta-based operator of more than 2,300 stores was able to post its first annual increase in same-store sales after eight straight quarters of decline.

“Our fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations as we saw greater engagement in home improvement spend, despite ongoing pressure on large remodeling projects,” Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said in a statement Tuesday. The executive cited continued capital investments by the company “despite uncertain macroeconomic conditions and a higher interest rate environment” that continue to dampen overall home improvement demand.

Elevated interest rates and slow home sales have generally weighed on Home Depot and rival Lowe’s for nearly the past two years. Home Depot’s full-year 2024 sales reached $159.5 billion for a 4.5% annual increase, though comparable-store sales declined 1.8%. Net income for the year was $14.8 billion, down from $15.1 billion for 2023.

The latest February consumer confidence survey by The Conference Board, an economic research group, showed purchasing plans for homes continuing to recover over the past six months, buoyed by a gradual decline in interest rates.

But more than half of respondents, 51.7%, said they expect higher interest rates over the next 12 months, with just 24% anticipating lower rates — possibly weighing on future sales of homes and the big-ticket items that go into them, like appliances and electronics. Home Depot projected a modest 2.8% growth in total sales for fiscal 2025 and same-store sales growth of 1%. By Costar