Home Depot is set to report second-quarter results before Tuesday's opening bell in a release that arrives under unusual circumstances: it will be the retailer's first earnings report since chair, president and chief executive Ted Decker began a temporary medical leave, confirmed by the company on August 12. Day-to-day oversight has shifted to a two-executive interim arrangement while Decker recovers, adding a layer of scrutiny to a quarter that was already being watched closely for signs of tariff and housing-market strain.
Wall Street enters the print looking for adjusted earnings per share of roughly $4.71 to $4.73 on revenue of about $47 billion to $47.5 billion, which would mark modest, low-single-digit growth from a year earlier. Home Depot has guided for full-year adjusted earnings per share in a range of $14.69 to $15.28, implying management expects profit growth to stay incremental but steady through the rest of fiscal 2026 even as tariff-driven input costs and a soft existing-home sales market weigh on big-ticket renovation spending.
The company has leaned on its professional-contractor business and supply-chain investments, including its SRS Distribution acquisition, to offset softer discretionary DIY demand. How much of that strategy shows up in Tuesday's numbers will be one of the more closely watched threads on the post-earnings call, alongside any update on store expansion plans for the back half of the fiscal year.
A Test for the Retail Earnings Wave
Home Depot's report kicks off a heavy week of big-box retail earnings, with other major chains following in the coming days. Investors will be parsing comparable-sales trends for evidence of whether professional contractors and DIY shoppers are pulling back on larger projects, and whether the company has been able to pass tariff-related cost increases through to customers without denting unit volumes. Any commentary tied to the leadership transition will also draw attention, given the interim arrangement now running day-to-day operations.
The print lands against a shaky macro backdrop: stocks fell Monday as oil prices jumped and the 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high, and a weak retail print could compound that pressure on an already jumpy market. A resilient number, by contrast, would help support the broader consumer-spending narrative that has underpinned this year's rally. Analysts surveyed ahead of the release, per TipRanks' earnings tracker, remain split on whether comparable-sales growth can hold up given softer housing turnover and the tariff overhang on building materials.