THRIVING IN A COVID ECONOMY, HOME DEPOT'S SALES BOOM

Analysts are predicting a bright 2021 for the construction product and home improvement retailer Home Depot.

Those predictions follow release of the Atlanta-based company’s second quarter earnings, which saw an unprecedented 24% increase over the same period of time last year.

Those numbers are even more impressive given that company’s quarterly sales increases for the last decades have typically ranged between 5 and 10%.

Company officials say a sudden boom in home upgrade and repair projects during the Covid-19 economic shutdown is the primary generator behind Home Depot’s strong numbers.

But it was also noted that least 45% of its sales came through materials and equipment purchased by contractors, electricians, and plumbers.

The company has additionally shown strong online sales. Those sales in the second quarter were up by exactly 100% over early 2019.

Such numbers have prompted analysts to predict a strong late 2020 stock performance for the company, while the Bank of America is forecasting a 15% increase in Home Depot’s shares over the next year.

In a statement, Craig Menear, Home Depot chief executive officer, would only say, “We are cautious to extrapolate trends from the first half of the year into a forecast for the remaining of the year, particularly given the tremendous amount of uncertainty we face with regards to the duration and continued impacts of the virus.”
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Home Depot currently has just under 2,000 outlets. Last month the company announced it was building three new distribution centers, all of which will go up in Georgia.

By Garry Boulard

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