Home Depot Lifts Guidance for the Second Time This Year -- Update

Home Depot Inc. raised its outlook for the second time this year as it reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.

Shares were up 0.8% at $155.48 during premarket trading and have gained 15% so far this year.

The Atlanta-based company now sees annual sales growing 5.3%, led by 5.5% same-store sales growth, up from prior guidance of 4.6% growth. For earnings, the company expects a 13% jump compared with an 11% increase forecast earlier.

Home-improvement companies have been reporting rising sales even as other retailers have struggled, primarily due to a growing housing market and an increased willingness pay for home-improvement projects. Many Americans have opted to do renovations as a shortage of new single-family homes across the U.S. has made shopping for a new home more expensive.

Americans are expected to pour a record $316 billion into home remodeling this year, up from $296 billion a year earlier, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The Atlanta-based company has reported rising sales as the housing market grows and Americans become increasingly willing to spend on home-improvement projects. During the most recent quarter, sales at Home Depot stores open at least a year grew 6.3%, led by 6.6% growth in the U.S. Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix were expecting 5.4% growth in the U.S. and 4.9% same-store sales growth over all.

In all for the three months ended July 30, Home Depot earned $2.67 billion, or $2.25 per share, up from $2.44 billion, or $1.97 per share a year earlier. Sales increased 6.2% to $28.12 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of $2.22 per share on $27.84 billion in sales.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 15, 2017 07:24 ET (11:24 GMT)