Home Depot(US:HD) Prnewswire·2025-12-09 11:00Core Viewpoint - The Home Depot is focusing on strategic priorities to enhance market share and shareholder value, with a preliminary outlook for fiscal 2026 presented at the 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference [1][2][3]. Fiscal Year 2025 Guidance - The company reaffirms its fiscal 2025 guidance, which is based on a 52-week year compared to the previous 53-week year [3]. - Total sales growth is projected to be approximately 3% for fiscal 2026, with GMS expected to contribute around $2 billion in incremental sales [6]. - Comparable sales growth is anticipated to be slightly positive for the comparable 52-week period [6]. - The company plans to open approximately 12 new stores [6]. - Gross margin is expected to be around 33.2%, and operating margin approximately 12.6% [6]. - Diluted earnings per share are projected to decline by about 6% from $14.91 in fiscal 2024 [6]. - Capital expenditures are estimated to be about 2.5% of total sales [6]. Preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 Outlook - The home improvement market is expected to range between -1% to +1%, with comparable sales growth projected to be flat to 2% [7]. - Total sales growth is estimated to be between 2.5% to 4.5% [7]. - Operating margin is expected to be approximately 12.4% to 12.6% [7]. - Diluted earnings per share are anticipated to increase by approximately flat to 4% [7]. Market Recovery Case - The company anticipates that housing activity will improve, leading to increased spending on larger projects due to pent-up demand [8]. - The market recovery case suggests that the home improvement market will grow faster than the general economy [8]. - The company operated a total of 2,356 retail stores and over 1,200 SRS locations across various regions, employing over 470,000 associates [8].