(Reuters) – Home Depot said on Tuesday it expects 2024 results below analyst estimates, signaling continued weakness in consumer demand for home improvement spending.
Home Depot shares fell more than 2% in pre-market trading.
For this year, the group expects a drop in its same-store sales of around 1%, while analysts expected an increase of 0.06% according to data from LSEG.
“The market expected the company to return to growth sooner than expected,” said Jonathan Reid, sector specialist at Fitch Ratings.
During the fourth quarter, customer transactions at Home Depot fell 1.7%, marking their eleventh consecutive quarterly decline.
Home Depot’s same-store sales fell 3.5% over the period while analysts were expecting a decline of 3.3%.
Home Depot is targeting an increase in earnings per share of around 1% in 2024, compared to a consensus of +3.2% according to LSEG.
(Reporting Granth Vanaik and Deborah Sophia in Bangalore; Lina Golovnya, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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