Home Depot, Inc. (The) (NYSE: HD) finished the Christmas Eve session modestly higher, then edged lower in after-hours trading—typical of a holiday-shortened day where liquidity is thinner and single trades can nudge quotes more than usual. HD closed at $347.34, up 0.69%, and was last indicated around $346.82 in after-hours trading (down about 0.15% from the close). [1]
The bigger headline for investors: U.S. stock markets are closed Thursday, Dec. 25, for Christmas, so there is no “market open tomorrow” for NYSE/Nasdaq-listed stocks. The next regular cash session is Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, which exchanges have confirmed remains a normal full trading day. [2]
Home Depot stock price today: the key after-the-bell numbers
Here are the most relevant datapoints from today’s holiday-shortened session and the first stretch of after-hours:
- Close (Dec. 24): $347.34 [3]
- After-hours (latest shown): ~$346.82 [4]
- Previous close: $344.97 [5]
- Day range: $343.90 to $348.26 [6]
- 52-week range: $326.31 to $426.75 [7]
- Market cap (approx.): ~$345.8B [8]
- Valuation snapshot (Google Finance): trailing P/E ~23.69; dividend yield ~2.65% [9]
Volume was light—no surprise on a day when the market closed early and many desks were operating with skeleton staffing.
What happened in the broader market today—and why it matters for HD
Home Depot trades at the intersection of consumer spending, housing turnover, mortgage rates, and contractor demand, so macro tone matters. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks drifted higher in a holiday-shortened session, with the S&P 500 up 0.3% to 6,932.05, the Dow up 0.6% to 48,731.16, and the Nasdaq up 0.2% to 23,613.31. [10]
That “risk-on” background is important context for why HD could finish green even without a company-specific headline: in late December, broad index flows and positioning often dominate single-stock narratives—especially for large, liquid blue chips like Home Depot.
The holiday schedule investors need to know tonight
Because this topic is causing confusion across markets this week, here is the clean takeaway:
- Dec. 24, 2025 (today): U.S. equity markets ran a holiday schedule with an early close (1:00 p.m. ET). [11]
- Dec. 25, 2025 (tomorrow):Markets are closed for Christmas Day. [12]
- Dec. 26, 2025 (Friday): Major U.S. exchanges have said they will be open for a full trading day, despite federal office closures on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26. [13]
So, if you’re planning trades “before the market opens tomorrow,” the practical reality is that the next meaningful premarket is Friday morning (Dec. 26), not Thursday.
The most important “forecast” for Home Depot right now is the company’s own outlook
For a stock like HD, the market’s medium-term pricing often comes down to one question: when does home improvement demand re-accelerate—and who captures it first, DIY or Pro?
What Home Depot said in its most recent quarterly update
In its third quarter fiscal 2025 update, Home Depot reported:
- Sales:$41.4B, up 2.8% year over year
- Comparable sales: up 0.2% (U.S. comps up 0.1%)
- Adjusted diluted EPS:$3.74
- Management cited lack of storms, plus consumer uncertainty and housing pressure as key headwinds. [14]
Crucially, Home Depot also updated fiscal 2025 guidance to reflect those conditions, including:
- Total sales growth ~3.0% (with GMS expected to contribute ~$2.0B incremental sales)
- Comparable sales: “slightly positive” (for the comparable 52-week period)
- Adjusted EPS: expected to decline ~5% vs. fiscal 2024
- Net interest expense: ~$2.3B [15]
That guidance frame still hangs over the stock today: HD has to prove that Pro-oriented growth initiatives and improved execution can outweigh the macro drag until housing normalizes.
The 2026 setup: steady-now, better-later
At its December investor update, Home Depot set a preliminary view that points to modest near-term growth with upside if the market improves. Reuters reported the company’s fiscal 2026 preliminary outlook as:
- Comparable sales:flat to +2%
- Adjusted EPS growth:0% to +4%
Home Depot also described a market recovery case that contemplates meaningfully stronger outcomes (including faster sales and EPS growth) if demand conditions improve. [16]
For investors reading the tape after today’s close: that’s the battleground. Bulls argue you’re buying a high-quality operator before the cycle turns; bears argue you’re early—and paying too much to be early.
Analyst forecasts and targets: what Wall Street is implying into the next open
Even without a fresh rating note today, “where the Street stands” remains one of the most searched questions around HD—especially into year-end.
Two widely followed consensus datasets paint a similar picture (directionally), with different exact averages:
- MarketScreener consensus: average target about $397 on a last close around $345, implying roughly mid-teens upside, with a consensus labeled Outperform and 37 analysts in the dataset. [17]
- StockAnalysis consensus: average target about $421 from 24 analysts, implying low-20% upside from recent levels (range shown roughly $350 to $497). [18]
Why the spread? Different services count different firms, weight updates differently, and refresh on different cadences. But the common signal is this: consensus targets remain above the current price, even after a choppy 2025 for the shares.
A useful way to interpret that tonight:
- Analysts are broadly modeling recovery leverage (housing + big-ticket projects + Pro demand)
- The market is still demanding proof on timing, which is why HD can have “Buy” targets and still trade sluggishly into year-end
Today’s “news” around Home Depot: what actually crossed the wires
Because you asked for today’s news and analysis specifically, here’s what stood out on Dec. 24:
1) The stock move itself was the headline
There was no major earnings release or new guidance today. The “after the bell” story is mostly price action + positioning: HD held its gains into the close, then slipped slightly after hours. [19]
2) A law firm announcement circulated (headline risk, not fundamentals)
A GlobeNewswire release from The Schall Law Firm said it is investigating potential claims related to Home Depot. [20]
Important context for readers: these notices are common across U.S. large caps and do not establish wrongdoing or financial liability by themselves. Still, in thin holiday trading, such headlines can add noise to sentiment, especially for algorithms that scrape news.
3) Holiday operations: stores close early (consumer-facing, not a stock catalyst)
Home Depot’s corporate site listed Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) early close at 5 p.m. and Christmas Day closed. [21]
Axios also included Home Depot among major retailers closing earlier in the evening range on Christmas Eve. [22]
This is more relevant to shoppers than to traders—but it helps explain why corporate newsrooms are quiet today.
What to watch before the next market open (Friday, Dec. 26)
With Thursday closed, the “overnight checklist” becomes a two-night checklist, and the risk shifts from micro-news to macro and flow-driven moves.
1) Liquidity and year-end flows
The first session after a market holiday—especially the day after Christmas—often sees:
- wider spreads
- more gap moves
- outsized impact from index/ETF rebalancing and end-of-year positioning
That matters for HD because it’s widely held in Dow/large-cap portfolios, so flows can be more important than headlines.
2) Rates and housing-sensitive positioning
Home Depot is one of the market’s most recognizable “housing-adjacent” bellwethers. Traders will be watching whether the next session reinforces the idea that:
- housing activity is stabilizing (good for big-ticket projects)
- or affordability/rates remain a cap on demand (bad for discretionary remodel cycles)
3) Pro demand and the “complex project” narrative
Home Depot has been leaning hard into serving Pros across larger projects—an area where investors look for share gains even when DIY traffic softens. Its latest quarterly commentary explicitly pointed to macro pressure on demand and highlighted how weather and storm activity can affect categories. [23]
If you see analyst notes or channel checks on Dec. 26, they’ll likely tie back to that same question: is Pro enough to keep growth resilient until housing turns?
4) Any updates tied to acquisitions and integration
Home Depot has been expanding its trade distribution footprint through SRS and GMS; the company has said GMS contributed meaningfully to quarterly sales in fiscal Q3. [24]
And Home Depot previously announced it completed the acquisition of GMS through SRS, a deal it framed as strengthening its Pro offerings and cross-selling opportunities. [25]
Integration progress and synergy commentary can re-rate the stock over time—even if it doesn’t move shares in a single holiday session.
5) Headline risk watchlist (low probability, high impact)
Because the market is closed Thursday, any surprise item has more time to accumulate attention:
- litigation/regulatory headlines (including “investigation” press releases) [26]
- sudden macro headlines that hit consumer cyclicals broadly
- unexpected retailer read-throughs (e.g., peers commenting on demand)
Bottom line: the “after-hours” move is small; the 2026 debate is the real catalyst
Home Depot stock’s after-hours dip on Dec. 24 is modest and comes on a day defined by holiday hours and thin volume rather than company-specific catalysts. [27]
The more durable setup into the next open (Dec. 26) is about whether investors are ready to pay up for an eventual housing-linked recovery—or whether they keep waiting for clearer proof that demand is turning. Home Depot’s own outlook has framed 2026 as a modest-growth year with upside in a recovery scenario, while its most recent quarter underscored that macro uncertainty and housing pressure are still real constraints. [28]
If you want, I can also write a shorter “Google Discover-style” version (500–700 words) that keeps the same facts but is optimized for mobile skimming—without changing the substance.
References
1. www.google.com, 2. apnews.com, 3. www.google.com, 4. www.google.com, 5. www.google.com, 6. www.google.com, 7. www.google.com, 8. www.google.com, 9. www.google.com, 10. apnews.com, 11. www.nasdaqtrader.com, 12. apnews.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. ir.homedepot.com, 15. ir.homedepot.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.marketscreener.com, 18. stockanalysis.com, 19. www.google.com, 20. www.globenewswire.com, 21. corporate.homedepot.com, 22. www.axios.com, 23. ir.homedepot.com, 24. ir.homedepot.com, 25. ir.homedepot.com, 26. www.globenewswire.com, 27. www.google.com, 28. www.reuters.com
