Investing.com - Home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE:HD) reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings on the back of strong revenue figures, it announced early Tuesday.
Home Depot said earnings per share came in at $1.52 in the second quarter, above expectations for earnings of $1.45 per share.
The company’s second quarter revenue totaled $23.81 billion, beating forecasts for revenue of $23.59 billion.
Comparable store sales for the second quarter rose 5.8%, while comp sales for U.S. stores increased 6.4%.
"In the second quarter, our spring seasonal business rebounded, and we saw strong performance in the core of the store and across all of our geographies," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.
Based on its second quarter performance and its outlook for the year, the company raised its fiscal 2014 diluted earnings-per-share guidance and now expects diluted earnings per share to be up approximately 20.2% to $4.52 for the year.
Following the release of the report, Home Depot (NYSE:HD) shares rallied 3.5% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mildly lower. The Dow pointed to a gain of 0.15% at the open, the S&P 500 indicated an increase of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 tacked on 0.1%.