S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) reported its results for the third quarter. The Home Depot is a home improvement retailer that sells an assortment of building materials, home improvement and lawn and garden products.

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Home Depot Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Third Quarter

Results: Net income for Home Depot Inc. rose to $934 million (60 cents per share) vs. $834 million (51 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 12% from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 4.2% to $17.3 billion from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: HD beat the mean analyst estimate of 59 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $17.09 billion.

Quoting Management: “Our third quarter was driven by strength in our core categories and storm-related sales as well as strong operating performance,” said Frank Blake , chairman & CEO. “We will continue to invest in our core initiatives to provide customers with exceptional customer service and great product values. I would like to thank our associates for their hard work and dedication.”

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income rise in three straight quarters. In the second quarter, net income rose 14.3% and in the first quarter, the figure rose 12%.

The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last four quarters. It beat the mark by 4 cents in the second quarter, by one cent in the first quarter, and by 6 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

The company’s revenue has now risen for two straight quarters. In the second quarter, revenue increased 4.2% to $20.23 billion from the year earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved up from 40 cents a share to 41 cents over the last thirty days. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the fiscal year has climbed from $2.29 per to share to $2.35.

Competitors to Watch: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW), Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDR), Lumber Liquidators Hldgs., Inc. (NYSE:LL), Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO), Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG (NYSE:HBM), PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI), KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN), Beazer Homes (NYSE:BZH), Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW), Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD), Target (NYSE:TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT).

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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