Home Depot Q1 Earnings Report Shows DIY Trend Still Strong

The upswing in home improvement projects that started when people were quarantined in their homes as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the U.S. and around the world in early 2020 seems to be continuing early in 2022, at least based on first-quarter earnings results for The Home Depot.

The world’s largest home improvement retailer on Tuesday (May 17) reported sales of $38.9 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, up $1.4 billion (3.8%) from fiscal 2021, according to a company press release. Comparable sales for Q1 rose 2.2% overall, rising 1.7% in the U.S., the release said.

Home Depot’s Q1 net earnings were $4.2 billion, up from $4.1 billion the previous year, according to the press release.

“Fiscal 2022 is off to a strong start as we delivered the highest first quarter sales in company history,” CEO and President Ted Decker said in the press release. “The solid performance in the quarter is even more impressive as we were comparing against last year’s historic growth and faced a slower start to spring this year.

“These results are a direct reflection of our associates’ continued ability to effectively navigate a challenging and dynamic environment,” he said.

As a result of Home Depot’s Q1 performance, the company has raised its fiscal 2022 guidance, expecting total sales growth and comparable sales growth of about 3%, operating margin of about 15.4%, net interest expense of about $1.6 billion, tax rate of about 24.6% and diluted earnings-per-share percentage growth in the mid-single digits.

Home Depot operated 2,316 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.

Related: Home Depot Launches $150M Venture Capital Fund

Earlier this month, the company unveiled Home Depot Ventures, a venture capital fund that will “identify, fund and partner with early-stage companies to accelerate emerging technologies that aim to improve the customer experience and shape the future of home improvement.”

The $150 million Home Depot Ventures fund “aims to invest in companies that advance The Home Depot’s ability to provide a seamless interconnected shopping experience, develop new and differentiated capabilities.”