Home Depot Sales Lifted by Smaller Projects, Despite Sluggish Housing Market

Home Depot reported improved sales during its second quarter, despite the sluggish US housing market. Revenue rose to $47.86 billion from $45.28 billion, beating Wall Street's expectations of $47.24 billion.

The company saw a 1.7% increase in global comparable store sales and a 1.3% rise in US comparable store sales. However, customer transactions fell by 1% in the quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail attributed the growth to 'broad based demand across the business' as customers focused on smaller projects during the summer months.

Neil Saunders of GlobalData noted that while the number of smaller projects increased, the number of bigger-ticket projects remained down due to concerns over financing and a lack of moving activity.