Home Depot (HD) beats estimates, but sees earnings decline

As we discussed yesterday, home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reported its second quarter earnings this morning, and the Atlanta based company reported earnings which were lower than the same period last year, but above analyst estimates.

Comparing this years second quarter to the same quarter last year, the company saw a big drop in earnings, falling from $1.86 billion last year to $1.59 billion this year. The company blamed the drop on the weak housing market that America is currently experiencing, and this should be nothing new to our readers. We have been expecting to see the company's earnings fall, but on the bright side, the company did come in above estimates.

Analysts had been expecting to see the company report 72 cents per share during the quarter, and the company showed earnings of 81 cents per share, with earnings from continuing operations being 77 cents a share.

How Wall Street will react to this mornings announcement remains to be seen. It is still a bit too early in the premarket action to get a good sense of how the day will turn out for the home improvement retailer. Will traders reward the company for beating estimates, or will the bears came out of the shadows and sell the company down in reaction to the company's lower earnings?

At the time I am writing this the stock is still looking up slightly in the premarket, with shares up 0.7 percent, but it is still way too early to know how accurate this will predict the stocks open.

The company is going to be holding a conference call starting at 9:00 AM EDT to discuss the quarter, and we will be liveblogging the call in its entirety. So be sure to check back later this morning to follow all the action and hear what the company has to say to investors.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.