Why Home Depot Stock Dropped Today

Core Viewpoint - Home Depot's stock declined 3.4% after reporting Q3 earnings that missed expectations on profit but exceeded sales forecasts [1][7] Financial Performance - Analysts had anticipated a Q3 profit of $3.83 per share on sales of $41.1 billion, but Home Depot reported earnings of $3.74 per share, adjusted for one-time items, with actual sales at $41.4 billion [1] - Year-over-year sales growth was 2.8%, but $900 million of the $1.1 billion increase was attributed to inorganic growth from the acquisition of GMS Inc. [3] - Same-store sales growth was only 0.2%, with half of that growth occurring outside the U.S. [3] - Under GAAP, earnings were reported at $3.62 per share, a decrease of $0.05 from the previous year's Q3 [4] Future Outlook - Home Depot projects a 3% sales growth for the year, primarily due to the GMS acquisition, but anticipates a potential earnings decline of up to 6% in 2024, estimating earnings around $14.01 per share [4] - The current price-to-earnings ratio stands at approximately 24.6 times, which is considered high given the shrinking profits [5] Investment Sentiment - Analysts express a "sell" recommendation on Home Depot stock due to the weak earnings and guidance [5][7] - Home Depot was not included in a list of top stock recommendations by The Motley Fool Stock Advisor, which identified ten better investment opportunities [8]