The ubiquitous home improvement retailer, The Home Depot, Inc. (HD), operates over 2,300 stores in all 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and U.S.-island territories like Guam, notes Mike Larson, editor of Safe Money Report.
The company employs a half-million workers, generated $132 billion in annual sales last year and sports a hefty market capitalization of $418 billion.
While Home Depot has always been a fantastic long-term growth company, it’s really delivered in the shorter term. The pandemic prompted many homeowners to renovate, while encouraging others to move out of crowded cities to suburban and rural areas.
All of that has turbocharged HD sales and profit. In Q3, it reported:
- $3.92 in earnings per share, crushing the average analyst forecast of $3.40.
- Revenue of $36.8 billion, well above the $35 billion expected.
- And sales at stores open at least a year nearly tripled expectations.
The news helped push Home Depot shares to a fresh all-time high. Then, during the post-Thanksgiving selloff, they held in very well. One reason: The sell-off helped drive interest rates lower again, something that makes mortgages cheaper and supports real estate activity.
Bottom line? In this “low forever” rate world with an uncertain economic outlook, you can’t do much better than a stock like HD. Especially when you consider that its $1.65-per-share quarterly dividend is still good for a market-beating yield of 1.7% — even after recent share price gains. That payout is also up 10% from 2020. I recommend you add a position in The Home Depot at the market.
