Home Depot Q2 earnings beat forecasts as customers stick to small projects, housing market remains 'frozen'

Home Depot Q2 earnings beat forecasts as customers stick to small projects, housing market remains 'frozen'

Brooke DiPalma · Senior Reporter

Tue, August 18, 2026 at 5:53 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• HD +0.84%

Home Depot (HD) beat Wall Street's metrics across the board in the second quarter as its customers focused on smaller projects.

Revenue grew by nearly 6% in the quarter to $47.9 billion, above the $47.3 billion analysts forecast, per Bloomberg estimates. Adjusted earnings grew 0.2% to $4.79, more than the $4.73 predicted.

"We saw broad based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects," CFO Richard McPhail said in the release. McPhail and senior executive vice president Ann-Marie Campbell are temporarily leading the company while CEO Ted Decker takes medical leave.

Home Depot stock rose slightly in morning trading following the results.

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Customers visited Home Depot less frequently during the quarter but spent more when they did. Same-store sales increased 1.7%, more than the roughly 1% expected, and US same-store sales jumped 1.3%, higher than the 0.9% expected.

Ticket sizes of over $1,000 were up 2.4% year over year.

Spring outdoor categories, including live goods, mulch, patio items, and grills, drove momentum. Thirteen out of 16 categories, including electrical, plumbing, and hardwood tools, posted positive same-store sales growth.

Read more: Best credit cards for home improvement (August 2026)

Larger discretionary projects are still under pressure as housing turnover has remained at record lows over the past four years, McPhail pointed out. He said the team expects the housing conditions to remain "frozen" as 30-year fixed mortgage rates remain around 6.7%.

"I don't think that we've seen much volatility from the recent increase in rates," he told investors on the call. "We do know that when we see step-downs [in rates], we began to see a little bit of life come into housing, but there's just no sign of an inflection point at this moment."

The company reiterated its 2026 forecast. It still expects total sales to grow between 2.5% to 4.5% for the year, with same-store sales growth expected to be flat to up 2%.

During the quarter, the company received $730 million in tariff refunds, and $685 million of that reduced its cost of goods sold, helping offset higher prices for fuel, energy, resin, and metals in the second and third quarters.

D.A. Davidson analyst Michael Baker said these results set a "higher bar" for Lowe's (LOW), which is expected to post a same-store sales increase of 0.7% when it reports quarterly results on Wednesday.

Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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