Home Depot Sales Boosted by Smaller Projects Amid Slumping Housing Market

Home Depot reported improved sales in its second quarter as customers focused on smaller projects during the summer months, despite the US housing sector being in a slump.

The company's revenue increased to $47.86 billion from $45.28 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $47.24 billion.

Global sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.7%, while comparable store sales in the US climbed 1.3%.

'We saw broad based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects,' said Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, pointed out that healthy spending on smaller projects during the quarter is encouraging, with a 1.5% increase over the prior year.