Consumers Are Still Spending: Why It s Time to Consider Home Depot Stock fool.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fool.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Home Depot Guarded on Future Demand After Bumper First-Quarter Sales
Home Depot on Tuesday cautioned it was difficult to predict how its business would be impacted by a potential change in shopping habits in the coming months as the reopening of the U.S. economy threatens to slow a pandemic-fueled sales boom.
The lack of a solid forecast from the top U.S. home improvement retailer, which benefited in the last year from a strengthening housing market, came as data showed homebuilding fell more than expected in April, likely pulled down by soaring prices for lumber and other materials.
Supply shortages and surging demand have caused lumber prices to more than triple in the past year, helping buoy sales at Home Depot but hitting its margins.
Operator
Greetings and welcome to The Home Depot s first-quarter 2021 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.
It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Isabel Janci. Please go ahead.
Isabel Janci
Vice President-Investor Relations
Thank you, Christine, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Home Depot s first-quarter 2021 earnings call. Joining us on our call today are Craig Menear, chairman and CEO; Ted Decker, president and chief operating officer; and Richard McPhail, chief executive president and chief financial officer. Following our prepared remarks, the call will be open for questions.
Rachael Kelly/Stuff
Gore residents Rosemary Heath and Christopher Scoles with their petition opposing the Gore District Councilâs Streets Alive programme.
Some of Gore’s elderly residents are too scared to leave their homes and drive in the town because of changes the council has made as parts of its Streets Alive initiative, councillor Glenys Dickson told a council meeting on Tuesday. And results to the council’s own survey about changes to the town’s streets found some initiatives were unpopular and there were concerns about safety issues. The council has rolled out a three-month trial of its Streets Alive project, which has changed some layouts for traffic throughout the town, by adding pocket parks, planters, roundabouts and courtesy crossings.
SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF
The Gore District Council will investigate reinstating charges for some users depositing green waste at its landfill. (File photo)
An increase in the amount of green waste being disposed at the Gore District Council’s landfill has meant the council has become ’a victim of its own success’’. It is now investigating whether it would reinstate charging for the service for some users. In May 2020, the Gore District Council removed the charge for green waste, allowing the public, including commercial businesses, to deposit any green waste from grass clippings to trees for free. A report from council facilities administration officer Neil Mair, which was tabled at a Gore District Council meeting on Tuesday, said green waste was now not weighed at the landfill, but visually the volume had increased considerably since the fee was stopped.