Home Depot Raises Hd Stock Focus on 1% Same-Store Sales
Hd stock is in focus as Home Depot reports first-quarter results before the bell on Tuesday, May 19. Same-store sales are expected to rise about 1%, while mortgage rates remain well over 6% and housing turnover is sluggish.
Josh Lipton said Home Depot is facing "macro headwinds" even with modest growth in the home-improvement business. For shareholders, the number to watch is whether demand holds up for larger projects while homeowners keep waiting on better financing conditions.
Home Depot’s 1% sales test
About 1% same-store sales growth is the metric the market is parsing in Home Depot’s first-quarter report. Lipton said the company still faces pressure because "mortgage rates remain elevated, housing turnover is sluggish and big ticket projects still under pressure for homeowners."
Well over 6% mortgage rates are part of that backdrop, and they leave the report carrying more weight than a standard earnings print. If sales hold near the expected level, the read-through is less about a breakout quarter than about whether home-improvement demand is proving resilient enough to absorb a slow housing market.
Toll Brothers and CAVA on Tuesday
Toll Brothers also reports results on Tuesday, May 19, giving investors another housing-linked update on the same day. CAVA follows after the close with first-quarter results and roughly 6% same-store sales growth expected, putting a different consumer-spending test on the watchlist.
Pending Home Sales data are scheduled for Tuesday as well. Lipton said an economist is forecasting those sales to slow on a month-over-month basis in April, which would add another sign that transaction activity is still cooling rather than accelerating.
April housing data pace
April is the month tied to the pending sales forecast, and that timing makes the housing data more than a backward-looking statistic. It gives traders a same-day read on whether transaction softness is broadening while Home Depot and Toll Brothers are reporting.
For holders of hd stock, the practical read is simple: watch the sales trend, not just the headline earnings line. The report lands before the bell, and it arrives alongside housing data that can either support or complicate the case for steadier demand in home improvement.
