Home Depot Sees Sales Lift from Smaller Projects Amid Housing Slump

Home Depot's sales improved in its second quarter as customers focused on smaller projects during the summer months, despite the U.S. housing sector still being in a slump.

The company reported revenue of $47.86 billion, beating analyst expectations of $47.24 billion.

Globally, comparable store sales rose 1.7%, while in the U.S., they increased by 1.3%.

Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said customers were engaging in smaller projects, which he called a 'step change' from previous periods.

However, Neil Saunders of GlobalData pointed out that bigger-ticket projects remained down, falling by 2.1% over last year due to concerns around financing and a lack of moving activity.