(Reuters) -Home Depot cut its full-year profit forecast after missing Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings on Tuesday, as tariff-driven economic uncertainty dampened demand for big-ticket renovations
and do-it-yourself projects.
The world's top home-improvement chain set the ball rolling for a week packed with earnings reports from big-box retailers, including Walmart and Target, as investors track U.S. consumer spending ahead of the all-important holiday season amid tariff-driven cost pressures.
"We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand," said CEO Ted Decker.
Home Depot and rival Lowe's face subdued demand as worries about a slowing labor market and economic uncertainty blunt an expected boost from easing mortgage rates following the U.S. central bank's rate cuts.
Demand for projects that require financing, such as kitchen remodels, bath upgrades and flooring, has lagged over the last several quarters.
The company's shares and that of rival Lowe's fell about 2% in premarket trading. Lowe's is set to report results on Wednesday.
Home Depot expects annual adjusted earnings-per-share to decline 5%, compared with its prior target of a 2% drop year-on-year.
The company now expects 2025 same-store sales growth to be "slightly positive", compared to its August forecast of a 1% increase.
However, third-quarter sales of $41.35 billion for the third quarter ended November 2 beat expectations of $41.10 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Adjusted profit per share came in at $3.74, compared with estimates of $3.84.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
