Home Depot Sales Edge Up Despite Slowing Housing Market

Home Depot's sales showed improvement in its second quarter as consumers focused on smaller projects during the summer months. The company's revenue rose to $47.86 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $47.24 billion.

The increase was driven by a 1.7% rise in global comparable store sales and a 1.3% gain in U.S. comparable store sales. While customer transactions declined 1%, average spending per receipt increased to $92.50, up from $90.01 in the previous year.

Neil Saunders of GlobalData noted that smaller projects saw a 1.5% increase over last year, but bigger-ticket projects fell by 2.1%. The decline is attributed to concerns around financing and lower moving activity due to rising mortgage rates.