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**BETA FINCH — HOME DEPOT (HD) Q2 FISCAL 2026 EARNINGS BREAKDOWN**

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan. Today we're digging into Home Depot's second quarter fiscal 2026 results, reported August 18th.

JORDAN: Good one to cover — there's a lot going on here beyond the headline numbers.

ALEX: There is. But before we get into it, quick disclaimer: this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Good to have that out of the way. So, Alex, where do we start?

ALEX: Let's start with the top line. Home Depot posted $47.9 billion in sales for the quarter, up 5.7% year-over-year. Comp sales — that's sales at stores open at least a year — grew 1.7% company-wide, with U.S. comps up 1.3%. Adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.92, versus $4.68 a year ago.

JORDAN: And importantly, management said results actually exceeded their own internal expectations. That's notable in this environment — housing turnover is sitting at historic lows, and big discretionary remodels are still under pressure. So beating expectations here is really a story about smaller projects.

ALEX: Right, this was very much a "repair and maintenance" quarter. Think storage, electrical, hardware, plumbing — 13 of their 16 merchandising departments posted positive comps. Big, expensive kitchen and bath remodels? Still soft. But the bread-and-butter stuff is holding up well.

JORDAN: What stood out to me is the ticket versus transaction split. Average ticket was up 2.8%, but transactions were actually down 1%. So people are spending more per visit, but fewer people are walking through the door. Big-ticket purchases over $1,000 were up 2.4%, which tells you there's still some appetite for larger single-item purchases — think appliances, portable power tools — even if it's not full-blown renovation spending.

ALEX: Speaking of portable power, Billy Bastek, their merchandising EVP, called Q2 a record-setting quarter for portable power tools. That's been a real bright spot along with patio and, interestingly, appliances — where they've built out next-day delivery to nearly 60% of the population.

JORDAN: Let's talk about the tariff piece, because this got a lot of analyst attention on the call. Home Depot received $730 million in IEEPA tariff refunds during the quarter, and $685 million of that flowed through to reduce cost of goods sold. That gave gross margin a roughly 145 basis point lift.

ALEX: But — and this is the important nuance — that benefit was mostly offset by rising costs elsewhere. About 60 basis points of pressure from fuel, energy, and other input costs, plus another 60 basis points of margin dilution just from the mix effect of the GMS acquisition. Net-net, gross margin only rose about 25 basis points to 33.7%.

JORDAN: CFO Richard McPhail was pretty direct about this — he said even without the tariff refund, they'd have beaten expectations anyway, it just would've shown up differently. He's basically pre-empting the narrative that Home Depot "missed" underlying profitability and needed the refund to bail them out.

ALEX: Which makes sense given how the stock commentary was framing it going into the call. Now, strategically, the two big themes this quarter were the Pro customer and interconnected retail — meaning online, delivery, in-store tech all working together.

JORDAN: The Pro business had a positive comp and actually outperformed DIY, which is a real accomplishment given how much of the housing market is frozen right now. A lot of that comes down to SRS Distribution and the GMS acquisition — those are the specialty distributors Home Depot has folded in to better s

This episode includes AI-generated content.]]>HD-Q2-2027-enSat, 29 Aug 2026 01:27:49 +0000trueBeta FinchMore earnings analysis: https://betafinch.com Groups: RETAIL (https://betafinch.com/groups/RETAIL) ────────── **BETA FINCH — HOME DEPOT (HD) Q2 FISCAL 2026 EARNINGS BREAKDOWN** --- ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm...https://betafinch.com
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**BETA FINCH — HOME DEPOT (HD) Q2 FISCAL 2026 EARNINGS BREAKDOWN**

---

ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan. Today we're digging into Home Depot's second quarter fiscal 2026 results, reported August 18th.

JORDAN: Good one to cover — there's a lot going on here beyond the headline numbers.

ALEX: There is. But before we get into it, quick disclaimer: this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Good to have that out of the way. So, Alex, where do we start?

ALEX: Let's start with the top line. Home Depot posted $47.9 billion in sales for the quarter, up 5.7% year-over-year. Comp sales — that's sales at stores open at least a year — grew 1.7% company-wide, with U.S. comps up 1.3%. Adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.92, versus $4.68 a year ago.

JORDAN: And importantly, management said results actually exceeded their own internal expectations. That's notable in this environment — housing turnover is sitting at historic lows, and big discretionary remodels are still under pressure. So beating expectations here is really a story about smaller projects.

ALEX: Right, this was very much a "repair and maintenance" quarter. Think storage, electrical, hardware, plumbing — 13 of their 16 merchandising departments posted positive comps. Big, expensive kitchen and bath remodels? Still soft. But the bread-and-butter stuff is holding up well.

JORDAN: What stood out to me is the ticket versus transaction split. Average ticket was up 2.8%, but transactions were actually down 1%. So people are spending more per visit, but fewer people are walking through the door. Big-ticket purchases over $1,000 were up 2.4%, which tells you there's still some appetite for larger single-item purchases — think appliances, portable power tools — even if it's not full-blown renovation spending.

ALEX: Speaking of portable power, Billy Bastek, their merchandising EVP, called Q2 a record-setting quarter for portable power tools. That's been a real bright spot along with patio and, interestingly, appliances — where they've built out next-day delivery to nearly 60% of the population.

JORDAN: Let's talk about the tariff piece, because this got a lot of analyst attention on the call. Home Depot received $730 million in IEEPA tariff refunds during the quarter, and $685 million of that flowed through to reduce cost of goods sold. That gave gross margin a roughly 145 basis point lift.

ALEX: But — and this is the important nuance — that benefit was mostly offset by rising costs elsewhere. About 60 basis points of pressure from fuel, energy, and other input costs, plus another 60 basis points of margin dilution just from the mix effect of the GMS acquisition. Net-net, gross margin only rose about 25 basis points to 33.7%.

JORDAN: CFO Richard McPhail was pretty direct about this — he said even without the tariff refund, they'd have beaten expectations anyway, it just would've shown up differently. He's basically pre-empting the narrative that Home Depot "missed" underlying profitability and needed the refund to bail them out.

ALEX: Which makes sense given how the stock commentary was framing it going into the call. Now, strategically, the two big themes this quarter were the Pro customer and interconnected retail — meaning online, delivery, in-store tech all working together.

JORDAN: The Pro...]]>475falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/home-depot-q2-2026-earnings-analysis--74741500https://betafinch.com
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**WELCOME TO BETA FINCH: HOME DEPOT Q2 2026**

ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan, and today we're digging into Home Depot's second quarter fiscal 2026 numbers. Big one — the world's largest home improvement retailer, a lot of moving pieces this quarter.

JORDAN: Lots to get into, including some tariff refund math that tripped up a few analysts on the call.

ALEX: We'll get there. But first, the standard disclosure: this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Good to have that on record. So, headline numbers — Home Depot posted $47.9 billion in sales, up 5.7% year-over-year. Comp sales up 1.7% overall, 1.3% in the U.S. specifically.

ALEX: And adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.92, versus $4.68 a year ago. That actually beat expectations — management said the quarter exceeded what they'd planned for.

JORDAN: Worth noting right up top — before the numbers, CFO Richard McPhail addressed CEO Ted Decker's temporary medical leave of absence. Leadership wished him a quick recovery and said Ann-Marie Campbell and the broader team are steering the ship in the meantime.

ALEX: Good context to have. Now let's talk about what actually drove the quarter, because it's a broader story than just "big box retailer sells more stuff." Thirteen of sixteen merchandising departments posted positive comps — storage, electrical, hardware, power tools, plumbing, paint, flooring, you name it.

JORDAN: And it wasn't just seasonal stuff either. Merchandising EVP Billy Bastek made a point of saying only 3 of their top 20 performing categories were seasonal — the "middle of the store," as he called it, core home improvement categories, is where the real strength showed up.

ALEX: Portable power was a standout — Q2 was literally a record-setting quarter for portable power tools. And Pro customers outperformed DIY again, continuing a trend we've heard from Home Depot for a while now.

JORDAN: The Pro story is interesting because it's not just one thing — it's an ecosystem play. QuoteCenter, the SRS acquisition, GMS, purchase cards — they're stitching all of this together so a Pro can basically source everything through the Home Depot family instead of shopping around. Ann-Marie Campbell said 90% of stores closed a sale through SRS's catalog in the last 12 months.

ALEX: That's a real flywheel if it keeps compounding. And on the digital side — online comp sales grew 11%, the fifth straight quarter of double-digit growth. They also launched Express Delivery nationwide this month — three-hour delivery on tens of thousands of products, with most actually arriving in under an hour.

JORDAN: That's a meaningful shift. Delivery lead times are down about 45% over the last 18 months. For a company built on people driving to an orange box store, leaning this hard into fast delivery — including big and bulky items and even next-day appliance delivery in some markets — signals they're taking the fight to online-only competitors pretty seriously.

ALEX: Now, let's talk about the part of the call that generated the most back-and-forth — gross margin and tariffs.

JORDAN: Right, so this is the one investors were parsing closely. Home Depot received $730 million in IEEPA tariff refunds this quarter, and $685 million of that flowed through and reduced cost of goods sold. That gave gross margin a roughly 145 basis point boost.

ALEX: But — and this is the nuance — that benefit was largely offset by rising costs elsewhere. About 60 basis points of pressure from fuel, energy, and other input costs, plus another 60 basis points from a mix shift tied to the GMS acquisition. Net-net, gross

This episode includes AI-generated content.]]>HD-Q2-2026-enSat, 29 Aug 2026 01:27:41 +0000trueBeta FinchMore earnings analysis: https://betafinch.com Groups: RETAIL (https://betafinch.com/groups/RETAIL) ────────── **WELCOME TO BETA FINCH: HOME DEPOT Q2 2026** ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by...https://betafinch.com
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**WELCOME TO BETA FINCH: HOME DEPOT Q2 2026**

ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan, and today we're digging into Home Depot's second quarter fiscal 2026 numbers. Big one — the world's largest home improvement retailer, a lot of moving pieces this quarter.

JORDAN: Lots to get into, including some tariff refund math that tripped up a few analysts on the call.

ALEX: We'll get there. But first, the standard disclosure: this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Good to have that on record. So, headline numbers — Home Depot posted $47.9 billion in sales, up 5.7% year-over-year. Comp sales up 1.7% overall, 1.3% in the U.S. specifically.

ALEX: And adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.92, versus $4.68 a year ago. That actually beat expectations — management said the quarter exceeded what they'd planned for.

JORDAN: Worth noting right up top — before the numbers, CFO Richard McPhail addressed CEO Ted Decker's temporary medical leave of absence. Leadership wished him a quick recovery and said Ann-Marie Campbell and the broader team are steering the ship in the meantime.

ALEX: Good context to have. Now let's talk about what actually drove the quarter, because it's a broader story than just "big box retailer sells more stuff." Thirteen of sixteen merchandising departments posted positive comps — storage, electrical, hardware, power tools, plumbing, paint, flooring, you name it.

JORDAN: And it wasn't just seasonal stuff either. Merchandising EVP Billy Bastek made a point of saying only 3 of their top 20 performing categories were seasonal — the "middle of the store," as he called it, core home improvement categories, is where the real strength showed up.

ALEX: Portable power was a standout — Q2 was literally a record-setting quarter for portable power tools. And Pro customers outperformed DIY again, continuing a trend we've heard from Home Depot for a while now.

JORDAN: The Pro story is interesting because it's not just one thing — it's an ecosystem play. QuoteCenter, the SRS acquisition, GMS, purchase cards — they're stitching all of this together so a Pro can basically source everything through the Home Depot family instead of shopping around. Ann-Marie Campbell said 90% of stores closed a sale through SRS's catalog in the last 12 months.

ALEX: That's a real flywheel if it keeps compounding. And on the digital side — online comp sales grew 11%, the fifth straight quarter of double-digit growth. They also launched Express Delivery nationwide this month — three-hour delivery on tens of thousands of products, with most actually arriving in under an hour.

JORDAN: That's a meaningful shift. Delivery lead times are down about 45% over the last 18 months. For a company built on people driving to an orange box store, leaning this hard into fast delivery — including big and bulky items and even next-day appliance delivery in some markets — signals they're taking the fight to online-only competitors pretty seriously.

ALEX: Now, let's talk about the part of the call that generated the most back-and-forth — gross margin and tariffs.

JORDAN: Right, so this is the one investors were parsing closely. Home Depot received $730 million in IEEPA tariff refunds this quarter, and $685 million of that flowed through and reduced cost of goods sold. That gave gross margin a roughly 145 basis...]]>480falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/home-depot-q1-2026-earnings-analysis--72075040https://betafinch.com
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# Beta Finch Podcast Script - Home Depot Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn corporate speak into plain English. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into Home Depot's first quarter 2026 results.

Before we get started, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex. And wow, what a quarter to unpack from the home improvement giant. Home Depot just reported $41.8 billion in sales - that's up 4.8% year-over-year. But the real story is in the details, isn't it?

**ALEX:** Absolutely. The headline numbers look decent, but when you dig deeper, you can see the challenges they're facing. Comparable store sales were only up 0.6% - barely positive. And here's what's interesting about the monthly breakdown: February was up 0.7%, March jumped to positive 2%, but then April went negative 0.5%.

**JORDAN:** That April drop really tells a story about weather impact and consumer behavior. CEO Ted Decker mentioned that when weather was favorable in the Northern and Western divisions, customers engaged in outdoor projects. But those bigger discretionary projects? Still under pressure. It's like consumers are buying the essentials but holding back on major renovations.

**ALEX:** The earnings picture reflects that cautiousness too. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at $3.43, down from $3.56 last year. That's about a 3.7% decline. And gross margins? They dropped 75 basis points to 33%, largely due to the GMS acquisition they completed.

**JORDAN:** Let's talk about that GMS acquisition because it's reshaping their entire strategy. Home Depot is going all-in on the professional contractor market. They just completed the Mingledorff's acquisition too - that's an HVAC distributor with 42 locations across five southeastern states.

**ALEX:** This is fascinating from a strategic standpoint. Ted Decker laid out some impressive numbers - they're targeting a $700 billion professional market opportunity. With all their acquisitions, they now have over 1,300 branches through SRS, plus their 2,360+ stores. That's a delivery fleet of about 16,000 assets and over 5,000 professional sales associates.

**JORDAN:** The HVAC move is particularly smart. HVAC distribution represents about a $100 billion addressable market, which brings their total addressable market to $1.2 trillion. And here's the key - HVAC is more repair and replacement focused rather than new construction, which fits perfectly with the current market environment.

**ALEX:** Speaking of market environment, there was a revealing exchange during the Q&A. When analysts pressed about whether they'd consider lowering guidance given rising interest rates and energy prices, CFO Richard McPhail stood firm. They reaffirmed their comp sales guidance of flat to 2% growth.

**JORDAN:** That confidence is interesting because the housing market backdrop is still challenging. Existing home sales are below $4 million, HELOC activity has plateaued, and mortgage rates remain elevated. But Decker made a compelling point about their core customer - these are homeowners who saw their home values jump 50% over recent years and have healthy equity portfolios.

**ALEX:** The Pro business performance really stands out too. Billy Bastek, their merchandising chief, noted that Pro posted positive comps and outperformed DIY customers. Nine of their 16 merchandising departments had positive comps, including power tools, plumbing, electrical, and paint.

**JORDAN:** And their digital strategy is paying off. Online sales leveraging their digital platforms grew over 10% - that

This episode includes AI-generated content.]]>HD-Q1-2026-enTue, 19 May 2026 21:50:22 +0000trueBeta FinchMore earnings analysis: https://betafinch.com Groups: RETAIL (https://betafinch.com/groups/RETAIL) ────────── # Beta Finch Podcast Script - Home Depot Q1 2026 Earnings **ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn...https://betafinch.com
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# Beta Finch Podcast Script - Home Depot Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn corporate speak into plain English. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into Home Depot's first quarter 2026 results.

Before we get started, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex. And wow, what a quarter to unpack from the home improvement giant. Home Depot just reported $41.8 billion in sales - that's up 4.8% year-over-year. But the real story is in the details, isn't it?

**ALEX:** Absolutely. The headline numbers look decent, but when you dig deeper, you can see the challenges they're facing. Comparable store sales were only up 0.6% - barely positive. And here's what's interesting about the monthly breakdown: February was up 0.7%, March jumped to positive 2%, but then April went negative 0.5%.

**JORDAN:** That April drop really tells a story about weather impact and consumer behavior. CEO Ted Decker mentioned that when weather was favorable in the Northern and Western divisions, customers engaged in outdoor projects. But those bigger discretionary projects? Still under pressure. It's like consumers are buying the essentials but holding back on major renovations.

**ALEX:** The earnings picture reflects that cautiousness too. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at $3.43, down from $3.56 last year. That's about a 3.7% decline. And gross margins? They dropped 75 basis points to 33%, largely due to the GMS acquisition they completed.

**JORDAN:** Let's talk about that GMS acquisition because it's reshaping their entire strategy. Home Depot is going all-in on the professional contractor market. They just completed the Mingledorff's acquisition too - that's an HVAC distributor with 42 locations across five southeastern states.

**ALEX:** This is fascinating from a strategic standpoint. Ted Decker laid out some impressive numbers - they're targeting a $700 billion professional market opportunity. With all their acquisitions, they now have over 1,300 branches through SRS, plus their 2,360+ stores. That's a delivery fleet of about 16,000 assets and over 5,000 professional sales associates.

**JORDAN:** The HVAC move is particularly smart. HVAC distribution represents about a $100 billion addressable market, which brings their total addressable market to $1.2 trillion. And here's the key - HVAC is more repair and replacement focused rather than new construction, which fits perfectly with the current market environment.

**ALEX:** Speaking of market environment, there was a revealing exchange during the Q&A. When analysts pressed about whether they'd consider lowering guidance given rising interest rates and energy prices, CFO Richard McPhail stood firm. They reaffirmed their comp sales guidance of flat to 2% growth.

**JORDAN:** That confidence is interesting because the housing market backdrop is still challenging. Existing home sales are below $4 million, HELOC activity has plateaued, and mortgage rates remain elevated. But Decker made a compelling point about their core customer - these are homeowners who saw their home values jump 50% over recent years and have healthy equity portfolios.

**ALEX:** The Pro business performance really stands out too. Billy Bastek, their merchandising chief, noted that Pro posted positive comps and outperformed...]]>517falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/coming-soon-beta-finch-en--70092120
This episode includes AI-generated content.]]>HD-coming-soon-enTue, 17 Feb 2026 04:46:30 +0000trueBeta FinchStay tuned for AI-powered earnings analysis from Beta Finch.
This episode includes AI-generated content.]]>121falsefull