Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. raised their full-year forecasts after second-quarter profits beat analysts’ estimates, helped by U.S. consumers shopping for discount items and tools to repair their homes.
Profits in the year ending in January will rise to $4.41 to $4.51 a share, up from a previous projection of $4.35 to $4.50, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal- Mart, the world’s largest retailer, said Tuesday in a statement. Home Depot boosted its annual earnings-per-share forecast by 4.5 percent.
Wal-Mart restocked thousands of products to lure shoppers seeking lower prices as they cope with high unemployment and fuel costs.
At Home Depot, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, customers bought flowers and cleaning supplies after spring storms as well as kitchen appliances and building materials.
“The consumer is still plugging along but hasn’t fallen off a cliff like some people had expected,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer for Greenwood Capital in Greenwood, S.C., with assets of $950 million, including 139,000 Home Depot shares and no Wal-Mart stock.
