Home Depot cuts forecast as quarter sales dropped more than expected

Posted on May 22, 2023   |  

Home Depot saw its biggest revenue miss in over 2 decades and lowered its forecast for 2023, as consumers delayed big projects.

The cold weather and plunging lumber prices also harmed fiscal first-quarter sales. 

Home Depot expects sales and comparable sales to drop between 2% and 5% for the fiscal year and its operating margin rate to lower in a range of between 14% and 14.3%.

In the 1st quarter, comparable sales fell by 4.5% and dropped by 4.6% in the U.S. 

Home Depot registered a fiscal first-quarter net income of $3.87 billion, down 8.5% from $4.23 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell by 4.2% to $37.26 billion from $38.91 billion.

In the 2nd consecutive quarter, Home Depot skipped Wall Street’s revenue expectations, last quarter, the company failed to reach analysts’ expectations since November 2019.

Spring season draws a major quarter for sales to do-it-yourself customers and professionals yet Home Depot and its competitors now encounter a more unreliable outlook.