Home Depot Tops Estimates as U.S. Housing Market Strengthens

Home Depot (HD) reported second quarter earnings on Tuesday that were in line with Wall Street estimates. The biggest global home improvement retailer got a boost from the continuing recovery of the U.S. housing market, showing positive domestic sales. The company raised its guidance for the year and also upped its sales forecast to between the range of 5.2 and 6 percent growth. Home Depot posted earnings of $1.71 a share, matching analyst estimates and up from last year's $1.52 a share. Revenue topped estimates, coming in at $24.8 billion, up from last year's $23.8 billion. Same store sales jumped 4.2 percent, beating estimates but shares in Home Depot were up roughly 2 percent on the earnings news.