Earnings Release

The Home Depot, Inc.'s latest earnings press release, filed Aug 18, 2026, scored line by line for tone, guidance and what changed since the prior release.

Guidance reaffirmed24 lines scoredFiled Aug 18, 2026SEC 8-K · Exhibit 99

Release Tone

UPBEAT

GuidanceGuidance reaffirmedWhat this release does to the company's outlook

Tone change▲ 0.8pointsvs the prior release (May 19, 2026)

Hedging language3.63per 100 words▼ 1.32 vs prior

New this quarter8of 24 linesWording that was not in the prior release

The lines that matter most

Ranked by how material, how strongly worded and how new each sentence is.

1
ATLANTA, August 18, 2026 -- The Home Depot ® , the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of $47.9 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $2.6 billion, or 5.7% from the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
Guidance reaffirmed
2
Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 1.7%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 1.3%.
Guidance reaffirmed
3
Diluted earnings-per-share to grow approximately flat to 4.0% from $14.23 in fiscal 2025
4
Adjusted (1) diluted earnings-per-share to grow approximately flat to 4.0% from $14.69 in fiscal 2025
5
Total sales growth of approximately 2.5% to 4.5%
6
Comparable sales growth of approximately flat to 2.0%
Negative tone
7
Guidance includes IEEPA tariff refunds, which are expected to partially offset unplanned fuel, energy, and other product input costs throughout the fiscal year.
New this quarter
8
Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 were $4.8 billion, or $4.79 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $4.6 billion, or $4.58 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2025.
Guidance reaffirmed

Release by release

Tone and guidance for the last 2 earnings releases.

Aug 18, 2026Guidance reaffirmed68.2+0.8
May 19, 2026Guidance reaffirmed67.4

Bar length: tone on a 50–74 scale.

The release, annotated

1Highlight rankPositive toneNeutralNegative toneDimmed text: low materiality

Results

The Home Depot Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results;

Outlook

Reaffirms Fiscal 2026 GuidanceGuidance reaffirmed

Results

1ATLANTA, August 18, 2026 -- The Home Depot ® , the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of $47.9 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $2.6 billion, or 5.7% from the second quarter of fiscal 2025.Guidance reaffirmed

2Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 1.7%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 1.3%.Guidance reaffirmed

8Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 were $4.8 billion, or $4.79 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $4.6 billion, or $4.58 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2025.Guidance reaffirmed

Adjusted (1) diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 were $4.92, compared with adjusted diluted earnings per share of $4.68 in the same period of fiscal 2025.Guidance reaffirmed

Management commentary

“Our second quarter results exceeded our expectations.

We saw broad based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects,” said Richard McPhail, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.Guidance reaffirmed

“This quarter’s results were a testament to our investments across the business and our associates’ focus on customer service.Guidance reaffirmed

Our teams did an exceptional job executing throughout a dynamic environment, and I would like to thank them for their continued hard work and dedication,” said Ann-Marie Campbell, Senior Executive Vice President.Guidance reaffirmed

Outlook

Fiscal 2026 GuidanceGuidance reaffirmed

The Company reaffirms its fiscal 2026 guidance.Guidance reaffirmed

7Guidance includes IEEPA tariff refunds, which are expected to partially offset unplanned fuel, energy, and other product input costs throughout the fiscal year.

5Total sales growth of approximately 2.5% to 4.5%

6Comparable sales growth of approximately flat to 2.0%

Approximately 15 new stores

Gross margin of approximately 33.1%

Operating margin of approximately 12.4% to 12.6%

Adjusted (1) operating margin of approximately 12.8% to 13.0%

Effective tax rate of approximately 24.3%

Net interest expense of approximately $2.3 billion

3Diluted earnings-per-share to grow approximately flat to 4.0% from $14.23 in fiscal 2025

4Adjusted (1) diluted earnings-per-share to grow approximately flat to 4.0% from $14.69 in fiscal 2025

Capital expenditures of approximately 2.5% of total sales

31 boilerplate lines (safe-harbor disclaimer, contacts, call details) are set aside.

How this is scored

Source: the press release The Home Depot, Inc. filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99 to Form 8-K (Item 2.02). Financial statements and boilerplate are set aside.
Tone: a financial sentiment model scores each sentence 0 to 100; the release score weights sentences by how material they are.
Materiality and guidance: a classifier judges whether each sentence is specific information, and what the release does to the outlook.
New this quarter: wording that does not appear in the prior release.
Hedging: uncertainty words (may, could, approximately, headwinds and similar) per 100 words of narrative.

These scores describe the release's language. They are not a forecast or a recommendation. Read the original filing

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