Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) reiterated its fiscal 2025 outlook and offered initial guidance for fiscal 2026 during its investor conference on Tuesday. For 2025, the retailer continues to anticipate roughly 3% growth in total sales, with comparable sales turning slightly positive on a comparable 52-week basis.
The company still expects a fiscal 2025 gross margin near 33.2% and an operating margin around 12.6%. Diluted earnings per share are projected to fall about 6% from the $14.91 recorded in fiscal 2024, while adjusted diluted EPS is expected to decline roughly 5% from $15.24.
Looking ahead to 2026, Home Depot’s preliminary assumptions are based on a home-improvement market that could range from –1% to +1%. Management anticipates comparable sales to be roughly flat to up 2%, with total sales increasing between 2.5% and 4.5%. Operating margin is forecast in the 12.4%–12.6% range, and diluted EPS is expected to be flat to up about 4%.
The company also outlined a more optimistic “market recovery” scenario, which envisions total sales rising about 5% to 6% and comparable sales climbing 4% to 5%. In that case, operating profit would grow faster than revenue, and diluted earnings per share would expand at a mid-to-high single-digit pace.
Ted Decker, chair, president, and CEO, said, “The investments we’ve made over the last several years have further strengthened our distinct competitive advantages and position us well to grow share in an approximately $1.1 trillion total addressable market.”
For fiscal 2025, GMS is expected to add roughly $2 billion in additional sales. Home Depot also plans to open around 12 new stores and estimates capital expenditures at about 2.5% of total sales.
At the end of the third quarter, the retailer operated 2,356 stores along with more than 1,200 SRS locations, employing over 470,000 associates across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.