Home Depot, for the fourth quarter ended January 28, recorded net earnings of $1.74 billion, or $1.44 per diluted share, versus $1.47 billion, or $1.17 billion per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter.
Home Depot came out ahead of a MarketBeat analyst average estimate of $1.33 per diluted share for the quarter.
Comparable store sales were up 5.8% versus the year-earlier quarter, and comps for stores in the United States were up 6.3% versus the period a year before. The company posted net sales of $22.21 billion versus $20.98 billion in the 2016 quarter.
Home Depot, for the full fiscal year, recorded net earnings of $7.96 billion, or $6.45 per diluted share, versus $7.01 billion, or $5.46 per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter. Comps increased 5.6% versus the prior-year quarter, and comps for U.S. stores increased 6.2% from the year earlier. For the full fiscal year, the company posted net sales of $94.6 billion versus $88.52 billion in fiscal 2016.
“Our focus on providing localized and innovative product selection, improving the interconnected customer experience and driving productivity resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2016,” said Craig Menear, Home Depot chairman, president and CEO. “Our associates responded to a healthy housing market and strong customer demand, and I’d like to thank them for their execution, hard work and continued dedication to our customers.”
At the end of the fourth quarter, Home Depot operated a total of 2,278 retail stores in all 50 of the United States as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.
