Home Depot (HD) Tops Q4 EPS by 7c, Sales Beat; Raises Dividend 16%

Home Depot (NYSE: HD) reported Q4 EPS of $1.69, ex-items, $0.07 better than the analyst estimate of $1.62. Revenue for the quarter came in at $23.9 billion versus the consensus estimate of $23.67 billion.

"Our ongoing commitment to enhance the interconnected retail experience for our customers, provide localized and innovative product, and deliver best in class productivity resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2017," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. "I would like to thank our associates for their solid execution and exceptional work in service to our customers."

Dividend Declaration

The Company today announced that its board of directors declared a 15.7 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share. "As a testament to our commitment to create value for our shareholders and our positive outlook for the business, the board has increased the dividend for the ninth consecutive year," said Menear. The dividend is payable on March 22, 2018, to shareholders of record on the close of business on March 8, 2018. This is the 124th consecutive quarter the Company has paid a cash dividend.

Fiscal 2018 Guidance

The Company will have 53 weeks of operating results in fiscal 2018 and provides the following guidance for fiscal 2018:

• Sales growth of approximately 6.5 percent including the 53rd week
• Comparable store sales growth of approximately 5.0 percent for the 52-week period
• 53rd week projected to add approximately $1.6 billion to total sales
• Three new stores
• Gross margin of approximately 34.0 percent
• Operating margin of approximately 14.5 percent
• Tax rate of approximately 26.0 percent
• Share repurchases of approximately $4.0 billion
• 53-week diluted earnings-per-share growth, after anticipated share repurchases, of approximately 28.0 percent to $9.31
  • 53rd week expected to contribute approximately $0.19 of diluted earnings per share
• Capital spending of approximately $2.5 billion
• Depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $2.1 billion
• Cash flow from the business of approximately $14.1 billion

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Home Depot (HD) click here.

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