Home Depot’s record sales show that the US housing market remains strong

Home Depot (HD) He said Tuesday that total revenue rose 6.5% from a year ago, to $43.8 billion. The company reported net profit of $5.2 billion, or $5.05 per share. That far exceeded Wall Street expectations, as professional contractors and the do-it-yourself crowd kept spending.

Home Depot shares were up 5% at midday Tuesday, after initially falling in pre-market trading.

Investors may have initially been focusing on the downside in the Home Depot report: Customers didn’t make as many purchases as they did a year ago. The number of total trades decreased by 3%. But this downturn in activity was offset by the fact that customers spent more on what they bought. The average ticket sales were just over $90, up 9% from last year.

Much of this increase in spending is due to inflation. Jeffrey Kinneard, executive vice president of marketing at Home Depot, said in a conference call with analysts.

But Decker also said during the conference call that Home Depot does not see any physical signs of weakness in the housing market. He noted that demand was strong from both professional contractors as well as DIY consumers.

“With people spending more time in their homes, so repair and remodeling, the demand will increase due to wear. You will need more space and home improvements just because you are there more often,” Decker said during the call.

People want to fix their homes and have the money to do it. “Our client is in a really good place right now,” Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said during the conference call. He attributed much of this to the sharp rise in housing prices over the past few years.

Regardless of what happens to home sales, the trend of spending more on their homes could continue, especially if the economy continues to cool this year and into 2023.

“The home improvement sector tends to do well during recessions,” Shawky Azizat, an analyst at Third Bridge, said in a report on Tuesday. “We expect consumer demand to shift toward smaller scale remodeling projects, as individuals view their homes as stable investments during economic uncertainty.”