Home Depot reported sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were $35.7 billion, an increase of $3.5 billion, or 10.7 percent from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 increased 8.1 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 7.6 percent.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were $3.4 billion, or $3.21 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.9 billion, or $2.65 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2020. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 21.1 percent from the same period in the prior year. 

Sales for fiscal 2021 were $151.2 billion, an increase of $19.0 billion, or 14.4 percent, from fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for fiscal 2021 increased 11.4 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 10.7 percent. 

Net earnings for fiscal 2021 were $16.4 billion, or $15.53 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $12.9 billion, or $11.94 per diluted share in fiscal 2020. For fiscal year 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 30.1 percent versus last year. 

“Fiscal 2021 was another record year for The Home Depot. We achieved a milestone of over $150 billion in sales,” said Craig Menear, chairman and CEO. “Our ability to grow the business by over $40 billion in the last two years is a testament to investments we have made in the business, our ability to execute with agility, and our associates’ relentless focus on our customers. I would like to thank all of our associates, as well as our supplier partners, for their hard work and dedication to serving our customers, communities and each other.” 

Looking ahead, Richard McPhail, executive vice president and CFO, said broader housing environment continues to be supportive of home improvement: 

“Demand for homes continues to be strong and existing home inventory available for sale remains near record lows, resulting in support for continued home price appreciation. On average, homeowners’ balance sheets continue to strengthen, as the aggregate value of U.S. home equity grew approximately 35 percent, or $6.5 trillion, since the first quarter of 2019. The housing stock continues to age, and customers tell us the demand for home improvement projects of all sizes is healthy."

While we are encouraged by the consistent and resilient demand we’ve seen for home improvement, broader uncertainty remains with respect to the impact of inflation, supply chain dynamics and how consumer spending will evolve through the year. Given these factors, establishing full year 2022 guidance based on macroeconomic fundamentals remains challenging.”

The Pro Market

"We believe the ability to serve our Pros’ planned and unplanned purchase occasions will be an important driver of growth as we work towards a $200 billion sales milestone," said Ted Decker, president and COO. 

He explained how large-scale repair/remodeling pros in the Dallas, Texas, market primarily shopped at Home Depot for their unplanned, immediate-need purchases, largely out of convenience. "Over time, their in-store spend increased, and they were assigned a dedicated Pro Account Representative, or PAR, to deepen our relationship with them," he said. "As we invested across the interconnected experience, this customer engaged with us more often and occasionally used us for jobsite delivery. At this point, we saw their spend with The Home Depot grow to more than $100,000 annually, but still for mostly unplanned, immediate-need purchases in-store."

Fast forward to today, this customer now utilizes a number of new capabilities. "Last year, this customer downloaded our mobile app, and their mobile orders increased; they joined our Pro loyalty program and authenticated with us via our B2B website; we began offering personalized pricing on certain products; and they took their first deliveries from several of our new fulfillment centers, including one of our new Flatbed Distribution Centers," Decker said. "As a result, we’ve seen spend with this customer more than triple, to over $300,000 annually. While this is one example, we see that customers increase spend with us, as they build confidence in our capabilities."