By Michelle Chapman
Home Depot does not expect to raise prices due to customs duties. It says it has spent years diversifying the source of products on the shelves.
Billy Basteck, vice president of merchandising, said in a conference call Tuesday that Home Depot’s suppliers will shift sourcing in several countries, and that a single non-US country will represent more than 10% of purchases in 12 months.
“We don’t see any price increases on a broad base of customers coming up,” he said.
Other domestic and foreign companies have warned customers that price increases are underway as the US began a trade war.
Walmart said last week it had already raised prices and must do so again in the near future. Late Monday, Subaru of America said it would increase the price of some of its most popular models by up to $2,000.
President Donald Trump denounced Walmart, saying on social media over the weekend that retail giants should “eat” the additional costs generated by his tariffs.
When Trump raised the import tax heavily, he tried to assure skeptical citizens that foreign producers would pay those taxes, and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional costs. Most economists are deeply skeptical of these claims, warning that trade punishments will exacerbate inflation.
Home Depot’s revenue rose in the first quarter as customers spent a bit on small home projects.
Many US companies have lowered or withdrawn financial guidance from investors as tariffs launched by the Trump administration by global trade, but Home Depot on Tuesday was packed with previous forecasts of sales growth at around 2.8%.
Atlanta stocks fell slightly on Tuesday.
Revenues rose to $39.86 billion from $36.42 billion the previous year, bringing Analyst to $39.3 billion, beating Factset’s forecast.
Store sales have been open for at least a year and are a key gauge of retailer health, falling 0.3%. In the US, comparable store sales rose 0.2%.
Wall Street had expected sales for the same storey would fall by 0.1%.
Customer transactions rose 2.1% in the quarter. The amount spent on shoppers rose to an average of $90.71 per ticket from $90.68 in the previous year.
“Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations as we saw ongoing customer engagement on small projects and spring events,” Home Depot Chairman and CEO Ted Decker said in a statement.
Home improvement retailers like Home Depot are dealing with homeowners postponing bigger projects due to increased borrowing costs and lingering concerns about inflation.
The U.S. housing market is in a sales recession dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to rise from lows during the pandemic era.
Sales of previously occupied homes fell as mortgage rates and prices hindered home shoppers.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales fell 5.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2 million units from February. The decline in sales in March was the largest monthly decline since November 2022, and the slowest sales pace in March, dating back to 2009.
Sales of previously occupied US homes fell to their lowest levels last year in nearly 30 years.
“One of the central issues with Home Depot is the Skitsish Housing Market,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a statement. “The last quarter was strong, but home sales fell 3.1% year-on-year in the quarter as consumers blocked travel due to continuous high interest rates and increased economic uncertainty.
For the three months ended May 4th, Home Depot Inc. won $3.43 billion, or $3.45 per share. A year ago, the Atlanta-based company won $3.6 billion, or $3.63 per share.
When certain items were removed, the revenue was $3.56 per share. Wall Street was sought a profit of $3.60 per share.
Original release: May 20, 2025 12:16pm EDT
