Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The Home Depot recently discussed key priorities and a preliminary outlook for 2026 at its 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference, discussing financial and company goals for the upcoming year.
The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, noting a forecasted sales growth of approximately 3%, comparable sales growth to be slightly positive for the comparable 52-week period, the addition of 12 new stores and adjusted diluted earnings-per-share to decline approximately 5% from $15.24 in fiscal 2024.
The preliminary outlook for fiscal 2026 included forecasted comparable sales growth of approximately flat to 2%, total sales growth forecasted at around 2.5% to 4.5% and adjusted diluted earnings-per-share to increase approximately flat to 4%.
“We are focused on growing sales and delivering exceptional shareholder returns, supported by our culture and values,” says Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. “The investments we’ve made over the last several years have further strengthened our distinct competitive advantages and position us well to grow share in an approximately $1.1 trillion total addressable market.”
The company also provided a market recovery case, including total sales growth of approximately 5% to 6%, total comparable sales growth of approximately 4% to 5% and diluted earnings-per-share growth of approximately mid-to-high-single-digits.
“Our Market Recovery Case reflects our performance expectations once we see momentum in housing activity and increased spend on larger projects driven by pent-up demand,” says Richard McPhail, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We believe that the pressures in housing will correct and provide the home improvement market with support for growth faster than the general economy, and we expect to continue to grow faster than our market. In our Accelerated Recovery Case, we could see sales and earnings per share grow faster in the event of a sharper housing recovery.”
At the end of the third quarter, The Home Depot operated a total of 2,356 retail stores and over 1,200 SRS locations across the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.
