Home Depot sales top estimates

NEW YORK: Home Depot Inc beat market expectations for quarterly same-store sales on Tuesday as consumers bought more paint, tools and other home improvement products to do minor repair works while remaining indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shares of the Dow component rose more than 2.6% in premarket trading after Home Depot said its same-store sales jumped 23.4% in the second quarter ended Aug. 2, surging past the analysts' average estimate of a 10.5% rise. Home Depot and smaller rival Lowe's Cos Inc have been among the handful of corporate winners since the start coronavirus lockdowns in March. Analysts have said that with US housing market remaining robust compared to the broader economy, consumers will continue to invest in their homes. Net income rose 24.5% to $4.33b, or $4.02 per share, despite the company spending $480m in additional benefits to compensate employees required to work in stores and warehouses amid the health crisis.