Home Depot rises after sector strength and a foundation pledge

What happened

Home Depot (HD) rose 4.3% on October 22, 2026, after the consumer cyclical sector moved higher and the company’s foundation announced a $1,000,000,000 pledge to veteran housing by 2032. The consumer cyclical sector median rose 2.2% on the day while the S&P 500 fell 1.2%. Trading volume was 1.0 times its 20-day average. The session looked largely like a sector-wide move — the stock’s performance was 2.1 percentage points better than the sector median — with the Home Depot Foundation’s expanded commitment providing a timely positive headline, according to PRNewsWire and GuruFocus.

How big was the move

The gain was 2.7 times a typical daily move for this stock. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 6.3% while the S&P 500 fell 1.0% over the same period. In the past five years the stock had seven sessions with a gain of at least 4.3%; twenty trading days later the median result was a gain of 2.8%, and five of seven were higher. The stock’s beta of 0.73 indicates it tends to move less than the market, making a move of this size more notable relative to typical swings.

The technical picture

The stock traded 10.6% above its 20-day moving average and 5.6% above its 50-day moving average, but remained 2.4% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 71, above 70, a level often called overbought. The shares were 17.6% below their 52-week high. Over one month the stock rose 10.5%, while it fell 1.6% over three months and fell 16.2% over one year, leaving it 29.9 percentage points behind the S&P 500 over the past year. Volatility was 26% annualized over 60 days, higher than 62% of its own readings over five years.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through August 2, 2026, revenue was $169.18 billion, up 2.5% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $14.29, a decline of 2.9% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 33.2% versus 33.3% a year earlier and operating margin was 12.4% versus 13.1% a year earlier. Free-cash-flow margin was 8.9% and return on invested capital was 18.8%. The balance sheet showed net debt of 2.5 times EBITDA, and share count over one year increased by 0.2%.

Valuation measures included 22.9 times trailing earnings and 21.8 times expected forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 4.9%. The price to trailing earnings was higher than 52% of its own readings over the past five years, with a five-year median of 22.9 times earnings. PromtFinance scores ranked the company Weak on Value (38) and Growth (42), Neutral on Quality (61), Momentum (47), and Revisions (47), and Strong on Stability (87). Those metrics point to a business generating healthy cash returns and margins but trading at roughly in-line historical valuation and showing mixed growth signals. Market value was $308.91 billion.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Home Depot last reported on August 18, 2026, with earnings per share of $4.92 against $4.73 expected, 4.0% above estimates. That marked three consecutive quarters beating estimates and an average surprise over the last four reports of 2.4% above estimates. The typical two-day reaction after recent reports was that the stock rose 0.1%. The next report is scheduled for November 17, 2026. Analyst coverage included 63 analysts with a consensus rating of Buy; 59% of them rated the stock Buy or Strong Buy, and the consensus price target was $379.93, 15.9% above the closing price.

What to watch

• November 17, 2026: next quarterly earnings report.
• Foundation pledge: $1,000,000,000 committed to veteran-related causes by 2032; the foundation has invested more than $650,000,000 since 2011.
• Consensus price target: $379.93, which is 15.9% above the closing price.