Home Depot Earnings Beat Forecasts; Warns Of Strong Dollar Impact

Home Depot Inc. reported better-than-expected results on Tuesday as it also announced around $4.5 billion worth of share buybacks. The do-it-yourself retailer said it earned an adjusted $1.05 per share in the fourth quarter, versus 73 cents in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by FactSet were forecasting the company to earn 89 cents. Net sales rose 8.3% to $19.16 billion in the period. For fiscal 2015, Home Depot said it expects sales growth of 3.5% to 4.7%, and comparable-store sales growth of around 3.3% to 4.5%, with plans to open six new stores. Home Depot also said if current exchange rates stay where they are currently, with the dollar significantly higher, that would cause a negative impact to fiscal 2015 net sales of around $1 billion and a negative impact on adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share.