Home Depot faces May 19 earnings test

Home Depot will report fiscal first-quarter 2026 results on May 19, with investors heading into the release after a slide in the stock and renewed scrutiny of the housing backdrop. The company said on May 5 that it would release earnings before the market opens and hold a webcast at 9 a.m. ET on May 19. Home Depot shares closed at $302.55 on May 13, according to market data, after touching a 52-week low of $309.11 on May 12. Analysts say the key question is not just the quarter itself, but whether management keeps its full-year outlook intact as home turnover remains subdued. ### Why is May 19 a pressure point for Home Depot? May 19 is Home Depot’s next scheduled earnings date, and the company has already flagged the event on its investor calendar. The report comes less than three months after Home Depot gave fiscal 2026 guidance that called for total sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%, comparable sales ranging from flat to up 2.0%, and diluted and adjusted diluted earnings-per-share growth of flat to 4%. (ir.homedepot.com) Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz wrote on May 13 that she would be watching “how the stagnating housing market is affecting sales,” whether affordability has further reduced turnover, and whether large projects remain weak. AlphaStreet, in a separate May 13 analysis, said investors need evidence that stabilization can translate into enough demand growth to support Home Depot’s 2026 targets without relying on a sharp housing rebound. (ir.homedepot.com) ### What did Home Depot say last quarter that still matters now? Feb. 24 is the last time Home Depot updated investors on the business in detail. The company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 sales of $38.2 billion, down 3.8% from a year earlier, though it said the prior-year quarter included a 14th week that added about $2.5 billion in sales. Comparable sales rose 0.4%, with U.S. comparable sales up 0.3%. (morningstar.com) Fiscal 2025 sales reached $164.7 billion, up 3.2% from the prior year, while comparable sales increased 0.3% and U.S. comparable sales rose 0.5%, the company said. Net earnings for the year were $14.2 billion, or $14.23 per diluted share, compared with $14.8 billion, or $14.91 per diluted share, a year earlier. Adjusted operating margin for fiscal 2025 was 13.1%, according to Home Depot’s investor relations page. (ir.homedepot.com) ### What are analysts and investors listening for this time? Morningstar’s Katz said she also wants comments on whether customers are still taking on smaller, lower-priced projects instead of larger remodels. She said she would listen for updates on how smoothly Home Depot is integrating acquired businesses, including Mingledorff’s, the HVAC distributor whose acquisition closed on May 11. (ir.homedepot.com) AlphaStreet said the setup into earnings is tied to whether Home Depot can show “a relatively steady base” can become “a cleaner growth year.” That analysis pointed back to management’s February tone, which it described as measured rather than a call for a broad housing recovery. (morningstar.com) Reuters reported on Feb. 24 that Home Depot’s demand from professional contractors and minor repair work had helped offset slower big-ticket do-it-yourself remodeling in a soft U.S. housing market. That contractor focus remains central to how investors frame the company’s resilience heading into next week’s report. (news.alphastreet.com) ### What does the stock action say about investor nerves? May 13 left Home Depot stock at $302.55, down 2.55% on the day, according to market data. CNBC data showed the shares had fallen to a 52-week low of $309.11 on May 12, while Morningstar listed the stock at $310.46 on May 12 and said it was trading at a 7% discount to its $335 fair value estimate. Morningstar said on May 13 that Home Depot had traded above its fair value estimate since 2022 and had not been undervalued since March 2020. (money.usnews.com) That note raised Morningstar’s fair value estimate to $335 from $325 after what it described as modestly better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. ### What comes immediately after the earnings release? (finance.yahoo.com) May 19 is scheduled to bring Home Depot’s earnings release before trading and a 9 a.m. ET webcast, according to the company’s events page. The next listed corporate event after that is Home Depot’s annual meeting of shareholders on May 21 at 9 a.m. ET. Home Depot has also already posted Aug. 18 and Nov. 17 as the dates for its second- and third-quarter 2026 earnings releases. (ir.homedepot.com) (morningstar.com)