Home Depot's Sales Boosted by 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 US housing sector being stuck in a slump.

The company reported revenue of $47.86 billion, exceeding Wall Street's expectation of $47.24 billion, according to FactSet.

Comparable store sales rose 1.7% globally and 1.3% in the US, while customer transactions slipped 1%, but average spending per receipt increased from $90.01 to $92.50.

Neil Saunders of GlobalData noted that healthy spending on smaller projects is encouraging, with a 1.5% increase over the prior year. However, he also pointed out that bigger-ticket projects remain down by 2.1%, due in part to concerns around financing and previous lack of moving activity.

The company's stock rose 2% before markets opened.