Investing.com - The world's largest home improvement retailer Home Depot (N:HD) reported better than expected third quarter earnings and revenue ahead of Tuesday's opening bell, sending it shares higher in pre-market trade.
Home Depot said adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.35 in the June-to-September quarter, beating forecasts for earnings of $1.32 per share and up 17.4% from earnings of $1.15 in the same period a year earlier.
Third quarter of fiscal 2015 results include a pretax expense of $20 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, related to the company's 2014 data breach.
Home Depot's third quarter revenue totaled $21.82 billion, a 6.3% increase from the third quarter of 2014 and beating forecasts for revenue of $21.22 billion.
Comparable store sales for the third quarter were positive 5.1%, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 7.3%.
"During the quarter, we saw broad-based growth across our geographies and product categories, led by growth in transactions from both our DIY and Pro customers," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president.
Based on its year-to-date results and the outlook for the fourth quarter, Home Depot expects fiscal 2015 sales growth of approximately 5.7%, with comps of approximately 4.9%.
The retailer also expects fiscal 2015 diluted earnings per share to grow by approximately 14% to $5.36. This guidance assumes foreign exchange rates remain at current levels through the fourth quarter.
Following the release of the report, HD shares jumped 2.48%, or $3.00, in pre-market trade to $123.80 from Monday's closing price $120.80.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was upbeat. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 99 points, or 0.57%, at the open, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise 11 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 24 points, or 0.5%.