Home Depot Sales Rose 8.1% in Q2, Earnings Rose 11%
Atlanta, GA, August 18, 2021-The Home Depot reported sales of $41.1 billion for Q2 2021, an increase of $3.1 billion, or 8.1% from Q2 2020. Comparable sales for Q2 increased 4.5%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 3.4%.
Net earnings for Q2 2021 were $4.8 billion, an 11% increase compared with net earnings of $4.3 billion in Q2 2020.
For the first half of 2021, net sales rose 18.6% to $78.6 billion, from $66.3 billion in the second half of 2020.
Net earnings for the first half of 2021 were $9.0 billion, an increase of 36.1% compared to $6.6 billion in the first half of 2020.
Said Craig Menear, chairman and CEO. “As a result of [our associates'] efforts, we achieved a milestone of over $40 billion in quarterly sales for the first time in Company history. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our team, as well as our supplier and supply chain partners, as they continue to operate in this dynamic and challenging environment.”
Reported Menear in the conference call, “We have seen a shift in pattern of sales within the week as our weekday sales performance has actually strengthened relative to the weekend. We attributed this to consumers returning to travel and other recreational activities. And while the consumers return to pre-pandemic activities, we continue to see them engage in home improvement projects. We also see customers more comfortable taking on larger projects as evidenced by the continued strength with our pro customer, which outpaced the DIY customer for the second quarter in a row.”
Added Ted Decker, president and chief operating officer, “During the second quarter, 10 of our 14 merchandising departments posted positive comps, led by kitchen and bath and lumber. During the second quarter of this year, we saw single-digit negative comps in paint, hardware and indoor and outdoor garden. It is important to note that these were some of our strongest performing departments during the second quarter of last year. On a two-year stack basis, each of our departments posted healthy double-digit comps.
“During the first few weeks of the second quarter, prices for both framing and panel lumber reached all-time highs before quickly falling from their peaks. As an example, during the second quarter, framing lumber peaked at approximately $1,500 per thousand board feet before falling over $1,000 to approximately $500. While pricing for both framing and panel has come down from the peaks, the average price during the second quarter was still significantly higher than the same period last year. Inflation from core commodity categories positively impacted our average ticket growth by approximately 420 basis points during the second quarter.
“Big ticket comp transactions or those over $1,000 were up approximately 24% compared to the second quarter of last year. We saw big ticket strength across many pro heavy categories like lumber, vinyl plank flooring, gypsum and pipe and fittings. During the second quarter, pro sales growth outpaced DIY growth for the second quarter in a row. On a two-year stack basis, growth with our pro and DIY customers was consistent and strong.
“We're encouraged by the momentum we are seeing with our pros. Growth with our larger pros continues to outpace that of our smaller pros, and they tell us that their backlogs are long and growing. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders remodeling index hit all-time highs during the second quarter. And during the quarter, we saw many of our customers turn to pros to help them with larger renovation projects.”