Home Depot's (HD 0.50%) shareholders are no strangers to relentless growth, and this quarter did nothing to buck that trend. Host Chris Hill together with Motley Fool contributors Jason Moser, Ron Gross, and Andy Cross go through the most important numbers and trends from the report, then discuss where the home-improvement retailer can go from here.
A full transcript follows the video.
This video was recorded on Aug. 17, 2018.
Chris Hill: Home Depot had a rough spring, but everything is coming up roses this summer. Second quarter profits came in higher than expected, and global same-store sales, Jason, up 8%. That is a monster number.
Jason Moser: We talk about all of these retailers existing in an Amazon world and how they're doing it, some better than others. I'll tell you, Home Depot's operating as if Amazon doesn't even exist. I mean, it's phenomenal what they've done with this business. I think part of that certainly is due to the nature of what they sell. There is something to be said for going to the store and actually seeing what size screw or the lumber that you need.
The other part of this business that probably doesn't get as much play is the pro side of the business, the pro segment of the business. We know Home Depot as the business where we go buy a bag of nails or a hammer, or whatever. But the pro side of the business, where they're selling to professional contractors, is a very strong part of the business. It continues to grow. The average pro customer spends $6,000 annually with the store. That sounds like a lot, but frankly, they have opportunity to grow that ticket considerably here in the coming years.
Big ticket sales transactions, their transactions over $1,000, that is approximately 20% of U.S. sales. Big ticket transactions were up over 10% for the quarter. So, they're hitting it on all fronts. The do-it-yourself consumer, the pro consumer, really killing it online. Just a very well-run retailer, and I think a unique and bit more of a protected market.
Andy Cross: Yeah. 47% of their online sales are picked up in the store. I mean, they've really done a great job. And it's big investments. They're in the middle of this three-year investment to really get the digital part of the business set and logistics all set. To be able to have that combination of the physical presence and the online presence, that's really worked well for Home Depot.
Moser: The online sales were up 26% for the quarter.
Cross: Impressive.
Moser: The numbers speak for themselves.
Ron Gross: Am I the only guy that thinks they need more service in the store? I walk those aisles searching for a guy or a girl, I can't find one.
Hill: Really?
Cross: I tell you, it's so much better than it was five years ago. Now, you go in, it's almost like a Walmart greeter right at the beginning. They welcome you in there.
Gross: I just need a lot of help, let's face it.
Cross: You do need a lot of help.
Hill: Jason, one last thing. When you look at Home Depot's stock, it's up about 25-26% over the past year. That's including the bump that they had in the spring. Where is this stock, in terms of runway? In terms of the underlying business, we were talking about this before we started taping, this is as close to a perfect quarter as you could put up.
Moser: Well, it was perfect. I think in the call, some analysts questioned some of the macroeconomic trends, as to, maybe, is this the peak of the cycle there, are we going to start seeing some of a downturn there. But I think, when you look at the overall market opportunity and Home Depot's position in the market, clearly the leader compared to a company like Lowe's. I think there's plenty of room for this company still to run. They're going to continue to pay a dividend, they're going to buy shares back, and they're going to remain somewhat insulated from that Amazon competition in the near-run. I think it's a great hold.
Cross: And the stock really isn't all that expensive. It's about a market multiple. For quality company like Home Depot, it's a pretty good buy.
