Home Depot sales cool along with real estate market

Home Depot sales cool along with real estate market
FILE- In this Aug. 14, 2018, file photo workers stock the shelves at a Home Depot store in Passaic, N.J. Home Depot Inc. reports financial results Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — Home Depot’s fourth-quarter profit is short of expectations with rising real estate prices cooling home sales.

Shares fell 2.6 percent Tuesday before the opening bell.

The home improvement retailer earned .34 billion, or .09 per share, far short of the per-share earnings of .22 Wall Street was looking for, according to a survey by FactSet.

A year ago the Atlanta company earned .78 billion, or .52 per share.

The current quarter was also nicked by a one-time charge or 16 cents per share.

Revenue climbed to .49 billion, from .88 billion, helped by an extra week in the quarter, but that too was short of forecasts.

Home Depot Inc.’s sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.2 percent, also short of analyst expectations of a 4.5 percent jump.