Home Depot Posts a Sixth Sales Drop Amid Housing Market Woes
- Transactions over $1,000 were down in the most recent quarter
- Home improvement retailer is suffering from a US housing slump
A Home Depot store in Atlanta, Georgia, US.
Photographer: Dustin Chambers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Home Depot Inc.’s string of negative sales extended into a sixth straight quarter as the big-box retailer struggles to overcome a weak housing market and lower demand for big-ticket items.
Same-store sales, which investors use to track performance at locations open for at least a year, fell 2.8% in the company’s fiscal first quarter, a bigger drop than analysts were expecting. The Atlanta-based company was hit by “continued softness in certain larger discretionary projects” and a delayed start to spring, Chief Executive Officer Ted Decker said in a statement Tuesday.