Home Depot Falls Short of Estimates

Home Depot (HD Quote), the world's biggest seller of home-improvement goods and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, said its fourth-quarter earnings declined 27.5% from the prior year, while sales edged ahead.

The Atlanta-based company, dealing with the downturn in the housing market, said Tuesday that it earned $671 million, or 40 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $925 million and 46 cents a share a year earlier. Sales for the fourth quarter totaled $17.7 billion, a 1.5% increase from last year.

Both the top and bottom lines in the just-completed quarter fell short of estimates. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for a profit of 43 cents and sales of $18 billion. ...