Home Depot said it plans to hold the line on prices, contrasting its position with retail rival Walmart, which last week warned that it would not be able to block the effect of President Trump's tariffs much longer.
Home Depot said it has been pushing to shift production out of China while also asking suppliers to eat some of the costs associated with the tariffs, Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said in a Wall Street Journal report.
"If you've not already seen it, it will happen in May and then it will become more pronounced," said Walmart Chief Financial Office John David Rainey last week talking about higher prices brought on by the tariffs imposed by President Trump.
Rainey's comments came after Walmart reported another quarter of solid growth with sales increasing 4.5% at sores open at least a year for the quarter ending April 30. The results were better than expected, indicating that Walmart's strategy of winning market share through lower prices was paying off.
Both companies are keeping their financial forecasts unchanged, unlike many of their competitors who have backed off their earlier forecasts.
Squeezing suppliers
The Journal quoted suppliers as saying that Walmart, Home Depot and other retailers have been pushing them to make price concessions or shift production out of China. Some have already done so.
Home Depot’s comparable sales in the U.S. ticked up by 0.2%. McPhail said poor weather hurt February sales, but that strong employment levels and home appreciation mean that Home Depot customers—mostly homeowners—continue to have money to spend on home-improvement projects.
The Home Depot reported sales of $39.9 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of 9.4% from the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Comparable sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 decreased 0.3%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 0.2%.
“Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations as we saw continued customer engagement across smaller projects and in our spring events,” said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO.
“We feel great about our store readiness and product assortment as spring continues to break across the country, and I would like to thank our associates for their continued hard work and dedication,” Decker said.