Home Depot Is Still Looking Good

From The Motley Fool, Published September 5, 2013 

The world's biggest home-improvement retailer, Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) , recently reported quarterly results that were well above market expectations. Its closest competitor, Lowe's (NYSE: LOW  ) , also posted strong results as these two stocks continue their rally on the back of a housing recovery. The latest new home sales data was disappointing, but the long-term outlook remains positive.

Quarterly results

Home Depot's net sales increased  by 9.5% year-over-year to $22.5 billion, while net earnings rose 17.2% to approximately $1.8 billion, or $1.24 per share. The company managed to beat both revenue and EPS estimates by $780 million and $0.03 per share, respectively . Comparable-store sales were extremely strong--the year-over-year increase was 10.7%, as opposed to analysts' estimates calling for a gain of 7% to 8%.

Home Depot's CEO Frank Blake has attributed an uptick in consumer sales, as opposed to

Home Depot Rises As Lowe's Struggles

From The Motley Fool
By Sarfaraz A. Khan
Research Assistant G. Yousuf

The world’s largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot (NYSE: HD) has recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results on the back of a housing recovery. The company has started its fiscal year with a positive note and with a positive outlook; it is expecting further improvements in the future. This comes following disappointing results from its biggest rival Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW), the world’s second-largest home-improvement retailer, which missed both top- and bottom-line estimates.