Home Depot tops Q3 estimates, but bad news drags the stock lower


Also reporting earnings Tuesday morning was home-improvement retailer Home Depot (HD). The company announced that third-quarter earnings dropped 8.9% to 41 cents per share thanks to weak housing and home renovation markets. That was a nickel better than analysts' expectations.

Revenue dropped from a year ago as well, but the $16.36 billion in revenue was better than the expected $16.27 billion. The company also expects full-year earnings of $1.55 per share, which is better than the forecast $1.52 per share.

So, why did HD dip lower following the report? It seems that investors are a bit more concerned about the upcoming holiday season and a year-over-year drop in same-store sales. Moreover, the predicted full-year earnings of $1.55 per share are a full 13% lower than the results from last year.

What's more, the stock is struggling with overhead resistance in the $28.50 region. This region recently stifled HD's attempted run higher and, now that the stock has retreated to support at its 10-week moving average and reloaded, it appears that $28.50 will act as resistance again.

With year-over-year sales falling and low average checkout receipts, Home Depot could be in for a rough holiday season. A rough holiday season could then lead to a rough quarter ... it is a vicious cycle.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+6.5112,890.46
NASDAQ+11.372,927.23
S&P 500+1.991,351.95

Last updated: February 09, 2012: 09:26 PM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

19.13-0.11(-0.57)

Alcoa

10.64-0.03(-0.28)

Apple Inc

493.17+16.49(+3.46)

Google Inc 'A'

611.46+1.61(+0.26)

Bank of America

8.18+0.05(+0.62)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.96+0.34(+0.55)

Exxon Mobil Corp

84.88-0.44(-0.52)

Ford

12.69-0.15(-1.17)

Citigroup

33.66-0.57(-1.67)

IBM

193.13+0.18(+0.09)

Yahoo

16.00+0.22(+1.39)

Starbucks

49.20+0.48(+0.99)

Microsoft

30.77+0.11(+0.36)

Home Depot

45.27+0.10(+0.22)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1328840814057 ms.