Mild fall weather across the country—a hurricane didn’t make landfall on U.S. shores in September for the first time in a decade—coupled with homeowners reigning back spending on home improvement projects, led to lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings at Home Depot.
The home improvement giant on Nov. 18 reported sales of $41.4 billion, a 2.8 percent increase from the same quarter last year, with net earnings of $3.6 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $3.74. Those numbers were essentially flat from the same quarter in 2024, when it recorded net earnings of $3.6 billion and $3.78 per share.
Home Depot’s earnings, however, fell short of analyst expectations of $3.84 per share. Its stock slid 6 percent on the news, closing at $336….