This Week: Home Depot, Target results, US home sales
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
IMPROVE THIS
Home Depot reports its second-quarter results Tuesday.
The world’s biggest home improvement chain is expected to show that its earnings and revenue increased in the May-July period from a year earlier. Beyond earnings, investors will be listening for details on how customer traffic trends are faring in the current quarter. The chain has benefited as locked-down customers spent more to remodel their homes.
MIXED RESULTS?
Wall Street expects that Target’s latest quarterly snapshot will show mixed results.
Analysts predict the retailer’s second-quarter earnings declined from a year earlier, even as revenue increased. The company has enjoyed strong online sales growth as the pandemic put millions in lockdown. Meanwhile, customers shopping at Target stores have been buying more items per visit. Target reports its quarterly results Wednesday.
HOUSING MARKET MONITOR
Economists project that sales of previously occupied homes increased in July for the second month in a row.
The National Association of Realtors is expected to report Friday that sales accelerated to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million last month. The pace of sales increased more than 20% in June to 4.72 million homes. Despite the sharp gain, sales are still running about 11% below last year's pace.
Existing home sales, in millions, seasonally adjusted annual rate:
Feb. 5.76
March 5.27
April 4.33
May 3.91
June 4.72
July (est.) 5.45
Source: FactSet
