Cobb County-headquartered home improvement retail giant The Home Depot reported sales of $43.8 billion for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 6.5 percent from the second quarter of fiscal year 2021.
According to the company’s news release, comparable sales for the second quarter of 2022 increased 5.8 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 5.4 percent.
Comparable sales, also known as “same store sales,” is a metric used in retailing that compares sales in stores that have been opened for a period long enough to compare, often 13 months, to the same period in a previous year. It is used to adjust for seasonal sales differences, and gives investors another means of knowing whether a company’s sales are increasing or decreasing.
The company reported net earnings for the second quarter of 2022 of $5.2 billion, or $5.05 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $4.8 billion, or $4.53 per diluted share, in the same period of 2021, for an increase of 11.5 percent increase in diluted earnings per share.
Diluted earnings per share is a measure of all securities that can be converted into common stock, not just existing common stock, so it includes employee stock options, convertible preferred stock, and convertible bonds.
“In the second quarter, we delivered the highest quarterly sales and earnings in our company’s history,” said Ted Decker, CEO and president (who was also elected chair of the board recently). “Our performance reflects continued strength in demand for home improvement projects. Our team has done a fantastic job serving our customers, while continuing to navigate a challenging and dynamic environment. I would like to thank them and our many partners for their hard work and dedication to our customers.”
About The Home Depot
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 after co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired from the Handy Andy home improvement chain in southern California.
The firing did not affect their career prospects adversely, as their fortunes demonstrated shortly thereafter.
They decided to go into business together, and opened three stores in Atlanta. From those three stores they grew into a giant in the home improvement retail industry.
According to company promotional materials:
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. The Company operates a total of 2,298 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2020, The Home Depot had sales of $132.1 billion and earnings of $12.9 billion. The Company employs approximately 500,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
The company’s corporate headquarters is located in Cobb County, near Vinings and the Cumberland Community Improvement District.
