Home Depot Inc. extended a streak of robust year-over-year sales growth in the February-through-April quarter as a rise in demand that began with the coronavirus pandemic continued into 2021.
Sales for the Atlanta-based home-improvement retailer climbed to $37.5 billion in the three months ended May 2, from $28.26 billion in last year’s fiscal first quarter. Home Depot’s profit rose to $4.15 billion, or $3.86 a share, from $2.25 billion, or $2.08 a share, a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had been forecasting sales of $34.82 billion and profit of $3.02 a share, according to a FactSet survey.
Chief Executive Craig Menear attributed the results to unprecedented demand for home-improvement projects. On a comparable-store basis, the company’s sales rose 31%, including a 30% climb in the U.S.
Even as much in-person retail evaporated last spring, Home Depot worked to keep its stores open, arguing that it should be considered an essential retailer. As homebound Americans shopped for basic supplies and took on household projects during the pandemic’s lockdowns, demand for products from house plants to cleaning chemicals and kitchen appliances soared.
