(Reuters) -Home Depot beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter sales on Tuesday, helped by resilient demand from professional contractors, as the company plans to keep prices unchanged despite U.S. tariffs.
“We anticipate that 12 months from now, no single country outside of the United States will represent more than 10% of our purchases,” CFO Richard McPhail said in a statement. “We intend to generally maintain our current pricing levels across our portfolio.”
The decision to keep prices steady stands in contrast to Walmart’s warning last week that shoppers could soon face higher prices due to tariffs. That drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who said the retail giant should “eat the tariffs” on imported goods instead of passing on the costs to consumers.
Home Depot sources less than half of its goods outside North America, and has cut its exposure to China in recent years.
Shares of the Atlanta-based retailer rose 2% in premarket trading as the company also kept its fiscal 2025 forecast unchanged, with a sales growth target of 2.8%.
Several consumer-facing companies have issued gloomy quarterly results and pulled their annual forecasts citing the uncertain macroeconomic environment from shifting U.S. trade policies.
However, Trump’s recently announced 90-day trade agreement with China that reduces tariffs to 30% from 145% could support some improvement in confidence, analysts have said.
Home Depot has benefited from demand for tools used in do-it-yourself house projects, repair and maintenance ahead of the spring season, even as budget constraints weighed on larger home renovation activities.
The company has also strengthened its foothold with the professional customer base, including contractors, thanks to increasing investments in its supply chain after acquiring Texas-based SRS Distribution last year.
Still, its overall comparable sales dipped 0.3% in the quarter, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 0.15% drop, as customers continue to defer home renovations such as kitchen and bath remodels amid weakening consumer confidence.
The company posted net sales of $39.86 billion for the quarter ended May 4, compared with analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit per share came in at $3.56, missing estimates of $3.60 per share.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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