Shares of Home Depot Inc. HD dropped 2.8% toward a three-month low in premarket trading Tuesday, after the home improvement retail giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that missed and provided a downbeat outlook, citing persistent inflation, continued supply chain disruptions and a tight labor market. Net income edged up to $3.36 billion, or $3.30 a share, from $3.35 billion, or $3.21 a share, in the year-ago period. The topped the FactSet consensus of $3.30. Sales grew 0.3% to $35.83 billion but was below the FactSet consensus of $35.97 billion, as same-stores sales declined 0.3% versus expectations of a 0.3% increase. For fiscal 2023, the company expects sales to be flat versus fiscal 2022 and earnings per share to decline in the “mid-single digits” percentage range, while the current FactSet sales consensus implies 0.4% sales growth and EPS consensus implies 0.1% growth. Separately, the company said it raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $2.09 a share, and said it will invest an additional $1 billion in wages for its hourly employees. The stock has edged up 0.4% over the past three months through Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has tacked on 0.4%.
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