Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reported its first quarter numbers this morning, and as expected the company put up disappointing numbers. When I ran a preview of this quarter's announcement last week, I discussed that the housing slowdown was affecting home builder suppliers, and this morning we get a clearer look at just how bad things have gotten for Home Depot.

Analysts had been expecting to see the company post 59 cents per share for the most recent quarter, but the company was only able to post 53 cents, and early morning traders are punishing the stock in the pre-market. With a couple hours to go before the opening bell traders have already pushed the stock down 4% in early morning action.

There are a couple of different woes that are weighing on Home Depot. First, and most notably, is the lackluster housing market. This weakness has been going on for a while now, and as home builders slow down production, suppliers such as Home Depot are going to be the ones that really feel the crunch, and that is what we are seeing now. Earnings this past quarter fell by roughly 30% year over year. That's a pretty hefty number which took earnings from $1.5 billion last year to only $1 billion during its second fiscal quarter this year.

Another factor weighing on Home Depot is its increasing competition from Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW). As one of our readers pointed out last week, Lowe's has been slowly but steadily gaining market share from the once-dominant Home Depot. Yes, Home Depot definitely has its work cut out for it in the months ahead.

The company is going to be hosting a conference call this morning at 9:00 AM EDT, and BloggingStocks will be covering the event in its entirety. Be sure to check back around 9 for live, up to the minute action on what the company is discussing. Should be an interesting call, there are a lot of issues on Home Depot's plate these days, and it will be interesting to hear their take on the current market environment and how they plan to turn things around.

Home Depot Q1 Liveblog.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.