It appears good weather is bad for some business: the Home Depot just announced that a quiet hurricane season and overall less severe weather has impacted their business negatively. This was the first time in 10 years a hurricane didn’t make landfall in the U.S. and it appears to have impacted Home Depot according to their third quarter results update.
“Our results missed our expectations primarily due to the lack of storms in the third quarter, which resulted in greater than expected pressure in certain categories. Additionally, while underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize. We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand,” said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. “Our teams are continuing to execute at a high level and we believe we are growing our market share. I would like to thank our associates for their continued hard work and dedication.”
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retailer. In their third quarter update discussion, they reported sales of $41.4 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 2.8% from the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 were $3.6 billion, or $3.62 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.6 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2024. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 were $3.74, compared with adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.78 in the same period of fiscal 2024.
While the lack of landfalling hurricanes impacted Home Depot business, the same was also true for their competitor, Lowes. In third quarter results also released this week, Lowes earnings per share dropped from $2.99 last year to $2.88 this year.
“The company delivered another quarter of positive comp sales, and we’re pleased to start November with positive comps as well, despite headwinds related to hurricane activity in the prior year. With the closing of the FBM acquisition last month, we look forward to enhancing our offering to Pro customers and creating more sustainable, long-term sales and profit expansion for the company,” said Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe’s chairman, president and
CEO of Lowes said in a statement about their third quarter results.
