(Reuters) – Home Depot reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Tuesday, but posted a smaller-than-expected drop in same-store sales as the U.S. home improvement specialist benefited from changing consumer behavior , which favored small-scale projects and essential repair work.

“As in the second quarter, we saw continued commitment from customers to smaller projects, and we experienced pressure in some big-budget discretionary categories,” Home Depot Chief Executive Officer Ted Decker said. in a press release.

Transactions fell 2.4% over the period, the tenth consecutive quarterly decline, with average spending in stores also falling slightly.

Meanwhile, same-store sales fell 3.1% in the third quarter, while analysts had expected an average decline of 3.31%. Earnings of $3.81 per share came in above estimates at $3.76 per share.

Home Depot shares have fallen 8.8% this year and were up about 1% in pre-market trading.

“With continued pressure in some discretionary spending categories and a trend toward smaller projects, Home Depot has taken a conservative approach – which we approve of,” said Greg Melich, an analyst at Evercore, adding, however, that some investors could be disappointed by the reduction in annual forecasts.

Home Depot tightened its annual sales forecast to a decline of 3% to 4%, from 2% to 5% previously, and expects earnings per share to decline 9% to 11%, compared to 7% to 13% previously. .

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bangalore, Augustin Turpin, editing by Kate Entringer)

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