Home Depot's Impressive Fiscal 2017 in 5 Metrics

Home-improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) capped off 2017 on Tuesday morning when it announced its fourth-quarter results. Home Depot stock has climbed about 30% since it reported its fourth-quarter results a year ago.

The stock's 30% gain during this period nearly doubled the S&P 500's 15.4% rise, highlighting how strongly investors are betting on Home Depot given the company's ongoing success. Looking back at the company's strong fiscal year, here are five metrics that capture Home Depot's impressive performance during the period.

1. $100.9 billion

For the first time, Home Depot's annual sales crossed $100 billion, rising 6.7% year over year to $100.9 billion.

Fourth-quarter sales growth was even stronger, rising 7.2% year over year.

2. 6.8%

As many brick-and-mortar retailers struggled to increase their comparable-store sales at meaningful rates amid fast-growing e-commerce sales, Home Depot's strength at its stores was undiminished. The company registered comparable-store sales growth of 6.8% year over year in fiscal 2017. Further, in its vital U.S. market, comps growth was a strong 6.9%.

Just as revenue growth accelerated in Q4, so did comps growth. Comparable-store sales in Q4 increased 7.5% year over year.

3. 15.7%

As expected, Home Depot announced alongside its fourth-quarter results that it was increasing its dividend. The home-improvement retailer raised its quarterly dividend by 15.7% to $1.03 per share.

"As a testament to our commitment to create value for our shareholders and our positive outlook for the business, the board has increased the dividend for the ninth consecutive year," said Home Depot CEO Craig Menear.

4. 13%

Home Depot's earnings-per-share growth significantly outpaced revenue growth in fiscal 2017, driven by the company's aggressive share-repurchase program. Earnings per share during the period climbed 13% year over year, from $6.45 to $7.29.

When excluding a negative charge to earnings in the fourth quarter from the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as from a one-time bonus paid to hourly associates, full-year earnings per share increased 15.7%.

5. $8 billion

During fiscal 2017, Home Depot repurchased $8 billion worth of its own shares, up from the $6.9 billion it spent repurchasing shares in fiscal 2016. This reduced total diluted shares by about 3.6% year over year.

Highlighting how aggressively Home Depot is repurchasing its shares, the money it spent on repurchases was more than four times the $1.9 billion it spent on capital expenditures during the year.

Looking ahead

Finishing 2017 on such a strong note, management is optimistic about fiscal 2018. Home Depot guided for revenue to rise 6.5% year over year -- about in line with its 6.7% sales growth in fiscal 2017. In addition, management expects comparable-store sales growth of 5%.

Spotlighting management's confidence in the opportunities in front of Home Depot, the company is planning to significantly increase its capital expenditures in fiscal 2018 to $2.5 billion, up from about $1.9 billion in fiscal 2017.

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Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has the following options: short May 2018 $175 calls on Home Depot and long January 2020 $110 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.