08:46 AM EDT, 05/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Home Depot ( HD ) on Tuesday reported lower fiscal first-quarter results annually with comparable sales declining more than market expectations, but the home-improvement retailer maintained its full-year outlook.

The company posted per-share earnings of $3.63 for the three months through April 28, down from $3.82 the year before. The consensus on Capital IQ was for $3.59. Sales slipped 2.3% to $36.42 billion, just shy of the Street's view for $36.65 billion.

Comparable sales fell 2.8% at the company level, more than the 2.3% decrease modeled by analysts, and slid 3.2% in the US. The number of transactions dipped 1% to 386.8 million. The average ticket prices moved down 1.3% to $90.68, while sales per retail square foot declined 3.4%.

"While the quarter was impacted by a delayed start to spring and continued softness in certain larger discretionary projects, we feel great about our store readiness, our product assortment in stores and online and our associate engagement," Chief Executive Ted Decker said in a statement.

Total operating expenses widened to $7.35 billion from $7.01 billion in the prior-year period.

"Our data suggests that the company was running behind expectations for most of the quarter but had some improvement in later April as spring weather started to improve," Truist Securities said in an emailed research report. "Home improvement is still a coiled spring and if the (Federal Reserve) doesn't kill the economy, we could see a significant re-acceleration in home improvement/maintenance activity."

For fiscal 2024, the company continues to anticipate EPS and sales growth of about 1% each. The Street is looking for EPS of $15.27 on revenue of $154.26 billion. Home Depot ( HD ) also reiterated its full-year comparable sales guidance for a decrease of 1%, compared with the market's estimate for a 0.9% decline.

The company said the outlook doesn't reflect any impacts from its proposed $18.25 billion acquisition of building-products supplier SRS Distribution. The deal, which was agreed in March, is expected to complete by the end of the current fiscal year.

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