Home Depot executives said the retailer's second-quarter performance exceeded its original forecast, supported by broad-based strength in core home-improvement categories, delivery investments and continued gains with professional customers despite pressure on consumer sentiment. Executive vice president and chief financial officer Richard McPhail and executive vice president of merchandising Billy Bastek discussed demand trends, pricing, professional-customer initiatives, artificial-intelligence investments and capital allocation during a fireside chat. Bastek said 13 of the company's 16 merchandising categories posted positive comparable sales in the second quarter, with strength extending across core categories including plumbing, electrical, hardware and tools rather than being concentrated in seasonal products. Home Depot has posted eight consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales with professional customers, and McPhail outlined a strategy to expand share of the estimated $700 billion professional market within a $1.2 trillion total addressable market, with the company expecting $400 million in cross-selling during 2026, primarily through joint sales efforts targeting home builders and large remodelers. On delivery, Bastek said 65% of parcel shipments arrive the same or next day and 55% of big-and-bulky products arrive within two days, while McPhail said Home Depot has committed to several billion dollars of productivity improvements in its expense base over the next few years and expects to return to a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of approximately 2 times by the middle of fiscal 2027, resuming share repurchases by the end of the second quarter of 2027.
The Home Depot IncCommitted to several billion dollars of productivity savings, expects debt-to-EBITDA back to ~2x by mid-fiscal 2027, and will resume share repurchases.
