The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) released its second quarter earnings report on Tuesday, August 19. Despite reporting sales that missed analysts’ expectations for the quarter, the home improvement retailer’s shares increased by 3% following the report’s release.

Home Depot reported second quarter revenue of $45.28 billion, up 4.9% from $43.18 billion during the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenue of $45.36 billion for the quarter.

"Our second quarter results were in line with our expectations,” said Home Depot CEO, Ted Decker. “The momentum that began in the back half of last year continued throughout the first half as customers engaged more broadly in smaller home improvement projects. Our teams are executing at a high level and we continue to grow market share. I would like to thank our associates for their continued hard work and dedication." 

Home Depot reported quarterly net earnings of $4.55 billion or $4.58 per adjusted share. This was a slight decrease from net earnings of $4.56 billion or $4.60 per adjusted share during the same quarter last year.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based home improvement retailer reported that its comparable sales increased 1% while U.S. comparable store sales grew 1.4% during the second quarter. The company noted that foreign exchange rates had an adverse impact, reducing total comparable sales by about 40 basis points. Home Depot also reported a drop of 0.4% in customer transactions during the quarter. However, customers spent more in those transactions with the average ticket price rising to $90.01. At the end of the second quarter the company had a total of 2,353 retail stores.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) shares ended the week at $412.79, up 4% for the week.

La-Z-Boy Delivers Earnings Report  

La-Z-Boy, Inc. (LZB) announced its first quarter earnings on Tuesday, August 19. The residential furniture retailer’s sales fell short of quarterly revenue estimates, causing the company’s stock to drop 13% following the report’s release.

The company posted quarterly sales of $492.2 million, down 1% from $495.5 million reported during the same quarter last year. First quarter sales missed analysts’ expectations of $494 million.

“We were pleased to deliver sales and margin growth in our Wholesale segment for the quarter, primarily driven by our core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business,” said La-Z-Boy CEO, Melinda D. Whittington. “Demonstrating our continued progress on strengthening our core, we are pleased to have recently been named by Newsweek as one of America's Best Retailers in 2025, ranking #1 in the furniture category for the first time in our history. This recognition is a testament to our talented and dedicated team and our continued focus on further strengthening our product offerings, customer service, and in-store experience.”

For the quarter, La-Z-Boy reported net income of $18.2 million or $0.44 per adjusted share. This was a decrease from net income of $26.2 million or $0.61 per adjusted share in the same quarter last year.

The Michigan-based company, known for its recliners, sofas and chairs, reported a decrease in same-store sales of 4% as stores experienced fewer customers, which was partially offset by higher average ticket and design sales. Delivered sales for the company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores increased by 2% to $207 million in the quarter. Wholesale sales rose by 1% to $353 million, attributed to higher sales in its core North America La-Z-Boy wholesale business compared to the same time last year. The company expects revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 to be between $510 million to $530 million.

La-Z-Boy, Inc. (LZB) shares ended the week at $36.58, down 6% for the week.

Target Hits Earnings Mark

Target Corporation (TGT) announced its second quarter earnings report on Wednesday, August 20. Although the retailer reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, declining store traffic resulted in the company’s shares falling by about 8% following the earnings release.

Target reported quarterly revenue of $25.21 billion. This was down from revenue of $25.45 billion in the same quarter last year and surpassed analysts’ expectations of $24.93 billion.

"Today, we also reported our second quarter earnings, which showed encouraging signs of recovery, including improved traffic and sales trends — particularly in our stores — and disciplined cost management in a challenging retail environment,” said Target CEO, Brian Cornell. “As we enter the critical back-to-school and holiday seasons, our team remains focused on consistent execution and building momentum as we look ahead to the new year."

The company reported net income of $935 million for the quarter or $2.05 per adjusted share. This was a 21.5% decrease from net income of $1.19 billion or $2.57 per adjusted share reported in the same quarter last year.

Target’s total comparable sales decreased 1.9% in the quarter, which came as a result of a decline in comparable store sales of 3.2% and an increase in digital sales of 4.3%. Target’s gross margin rate slightly declined to 29% compared to 30% in the second quarter of last year. The decline was attributed to the combined effect of merchandising factors, including increased markdown rates and purchase order cancellation costs. The company named Michael Fiddelke, Target’s current COO, as its next CEO effective February 1, 2026. Target reaffirmed its full-year sales outlook and expects to earn between $7.00 to $9.00 per adjusted share in fiscal year 2025.

Target Corporation (TGT) shares ended the week at $99.24, down 5% for the week.

The Dow started the week of 8/18 at 44,963 and closed at 45,632 on 8/22. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,445 and closed at 6,467. The NASDAQ started the week at 21,617 and closed at 21,497.

U.S. Treasury yields declined midweek as investors reacted to the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting which noted that a majority of officials preferred to leave rates unchanged. Yields fell toward the end of the week following the latest jobless report showing the highest number of claims since June.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. At the meeting, most of the policy makers agreed to leave the key federal funds rate between 4.25% and 4.50%. The minutes revealed that two Fed governors dissented, signifying divergence within the Fed regarding interest rates. The Fed has held rates steady since December.

“Participants generally pointed to risks to both sides of the Committee’s dual mandate, emphasizing upside risk to inflation and downside risk to employment,” the minutes noted. While “a majority of participants judged the upside risk to inflation as the greater of these two risks” a couple saw “downside risk to employment the more salient risk.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of August 18 at 4.32% and traded as high as 4.35% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.92% and traded as high as 4.95% on Thursday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment were 235,000 for the week ending August 16. This was up 11,000 from the prior week and exceeded expectations of 229,000. Continuing unemployment claims increased by 30,000 to 1.97 million.

"The latest rise in initial jobless claims hints at some new softening in labor market conditions, but we cannot infer anything conclusive from one week's data, particularly in a week when seasonal factors lent an upside bias to the headline figure," said Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics, Nancy Vanden Houten. “Although they bounce around week to week, we think continued claims have probably leveled off.”

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 8/18 at 4.26%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.89%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, August 21. The survey showed the 30-year mortgage rate remaining unchanged from the previous week.

This week, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.58%, unchanged from last week’s average. Last year at this times, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.46%.

The 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 5.69% this week, down slightly from last week’s average of 5.71%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 5.62%.

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained flat this week,” said chief economist at Freddie Mac, Sam Khater. “Over the summer, rates have come down and purchase applications are outpacing 2024, though a number of homebuyers continue waiting on the sideline for rates to further decrease.”

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.39% as of 8/18. The one-year CD averaged 1.76%.

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