The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, reported sales of $30.8 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2019, a 1.2 percent increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2018. Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 were positive 3.0 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. were positive 3.1 percent. In the second quarter, the principal difference between the Company's sales growth and comparable sales performance reflects a shift in the fiscal calendar base due to 53 weeks of sales in fiscal 2018.

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 were $3.5 billion, or $3.17 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.5 billion, or $3.05 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2018. For the second quarter of fiscal 2019, diluted earnings per share increased 3.9 percent from the same period in the prior year.

"We were pleased with our results as we delivered accelerating comp performance throughout the quarter," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. "I would like to thank our associates for their hard work and continued dedication to our customers."

"We are encouraged by the momentum we are seeing from our strategic investments and believe that the current health of the U.S. consumer and a stable housing environment continue to support our business. That being said, lumber prices have declined significantly compared to last year, which impacts our sales growth. As a result, today we are updating our sales guidance to account primarily for continued lumber price deflation, as well as potential impacts to the U.S. consumer arising from recently announced tariffs. We are reaffirming our earnings-per-share growth guidance for fiscal 2019."

Fiscal 2019 Guidance

The Company updated its guidance for fiscal 2019, a 52-week year compared to fiscal 2018, a 53-week year. The Company expects its fiscal 2019 sales to grow by approximately 2.3 percent and comp sales for the comparable 52-week period to be up approximately 4.0 percent. The Company reaffirmed its diluted earnings-per-share growth guidance for the year and expects diluted earnings-per-share growth of approximately 3.1 percent from fiscal 2018 to $10.03.