Shares of Home Depot Inc. HD, -1.12% surged 2.3% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the home improvement retail giant reported fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that were well above expectations, citing “unprecedented demand” for home improvement projects. Net income for the quarter to May 2 for to $4.15 billion, or $3.86 a share, from $2.25 billion, or $2.08 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $3.08. Sales grew 32.7% to $37.50 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $34.82 billion. Same-store sales jumped 31.0%, compared with the FactSet consensus of 21.1% growth, while U.S. same-store sales increased 29.9% to beat expectations of a 23.5% rise. “Fiscal 2021 is off to a strong start as we continue to build on the momentum from our strategic investments and effectively manage the unprecedented demand for home improvement projects,” said Chief Executive Craig Menear. The stock has run up 20.5% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, +1.15% has rallied 46.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.16% has advanced 12.2%.
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