Home Depot (NYSE:HD) shares went up a little bit on Friday after the home improvement store announced a new $15 billion share buyback program, kept its dividend, and named new CEO Ted Decker as group chairman. This came after Home Depot announced this week that it made more money than expected in the second quarter.
Home Depot said it would pay a dividend of $1.90 per share every three months. This is the same amount it paid in the first quarter, and it means the company has paid dividends for 142 straight quarters. The group also agreed to a $15 billion buyback plan, which replaced a similar plan from 2017 with the same amount of money.
Craig Menear, who has worked for the company for 22 years and was named group CEO earlier this year, will step down as chairman on September 30. Decker will take his place.
Greg Brenneman, the lead director, said, “During Ted’s time as CEO and board member, we saw firsthand how passionate he is about the customer experience and our employees. We look forward to continuing to work with him as chair.” “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Craig for his unwavering commitment to The Home Depot’s values and his visionary leadership, which laid a solid foundation for the company’s long-term success.”
At the start of trading on Friday, Home Depot shares were worth $325.10 each, up 0.1% from where they were the day before.
This week, Home Depot reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast after its earnings for the July quarter beat Wall Street’s expectations. This was due to an unexpected rise in demand for home improvement products in the face of a slowing housing market.
Transaction numbers went down by 3%, but group sales shot up by 6% to $43.8 billion. This is partly attributed to the 5.8% increase in same-store sales and a 9.1% increase in average tickets. This shot up last year’s profits by 11.5%, translating to $5.05 per share, which was more than Wall Street expected.
A look at the 2022 fiscal year, ending in January, Home Depot says that it expects mid-single digit earnings growth, which is better than its previous prediction of ‘low single-digit growth. It also expects comparable sales growth of around 3% and operating margins of around 15.4%.
Featured Image : Megapixl © Kenneystudios
Author Jowi Kwasu 
