New York, June 20, 2026, 18:03 EDT
- Home Depot finished Thursday at $334.28, up 2.1%. Shares rose about 1.8% from last Friday’s close before the Juneteenth holiday.
- Stocks gained in a broader Wall Street rally, but new housing data weighed on the outlook for home-improvement.
- Coming up, the May new-home sales numbers hit June 24, while Home Depot reports earnings in August.
Home Depot closed out a choppy week with a 2.1% gain on Thursday, finishing at $334.28 ahead of the Juneteenth market holiday. The stock, part of the Dow and S&P 500, rose about 1.8% from last Friday’s close during the shortened trading week. The broader market also snapped back.
U.S. markets didn’t open Friday for Juneteenth and stayed closed Saturday, so investors last saw a full trading day on Thursday before next week’s housing numbers. The NYSE’s holiday calendar puts Juneteenth National Independence Day on the schedule for 2026. Normal NYSE hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
Home Depot shares moved up with the rest of the market as investors got more comfortable with oil and rates. Still, the picture for renovation demand tied to housing isn’t clear, so the read-through for Home Depot isn’t straightforward.
Stocks ended higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 up 1.08%, the Nasdaq ahead 1.91%, and the Dow rising 0.14%, according to Reuters. Consumer discretionary shares jumped 1.8%. Lowe’s, which trades as Home Depot’s main rival, gained 2.3% to finish at $222.20.
Home Depot is sticking to its own outlook. In May, the retailer posted first-quarter sales of $41.8 billion, up 4.8%, with comparable sales up 0.6%. The company kept its fiscal 2026 goals unchanged: total sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%, comps from flat to up 2.0%, and diluted EPS flat to up 4.0%.
Home Depot’s Ted Decker, who holds the roles of chair, president and CEO, called the first-quarter numbers “in line with our expectations.” But he also cited “housing affordability pressure.” That’s the big issue for the shares—demand hasn’t dropped as much as some thought, but the housing market hasn’t given the stock a real push yet. Home Depot Investor Relations
On the call, CFO Richard McPhail told UBS’s Michael Lasser that the company kept its comparable-sales outlook at “flat to 2%.” He said the outside environment was “more volatile.” McPhail said Home Depot is only just entering the main selling weeks for its second quarter. Home Depot Investor Relations
The bull case here depends in part on Pro customers — that’s contractors, not just weekend DIYers — and Home Depot trying to grab a larger share via SRS, GMS, HD Supply and trade credit options. Mike Rowe, executive vice president for Pro, said last quarter brought “continued momentum” in Pro Trade Credit, with good pick-up from builders and remodelers. Home Depot Investor Relations
Housing could stay soft for a while. Reuters said this week U.S. single-family housing starts dropped in May to the lowest level in eight months, with total starts hitting a six-year low. Sal Guatieri at BMO Capital Markets said there’s “little indication” homebuilding will recover quickly. McPhail also flagged unpredictable costs from fuel, commodities, and tariffs. Reuters
May new-home sales are due out Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern from the Census Bureau. Home Depot’s outlook won’t move just on a weak number, but another soft report could stoke the key fear—rising borrowing costs are still slowing the big home projects that drive the stock.
