Home Depot’s sales saw an increase in the second quarter, buoyed by customers’ focus on smaller projects during the summer months, even as the U.S. housing sector remains in a downturn.

Revenue for the period climbed to $47.86 billion from $45.28 billion a year earlier, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $47.24 billion. Globally, sales at stores open for at least a year, a key metric for retailer performance, grew by 1.7%. In the United States, comparable store sales rose 1.3%.

“Our second quarter results exceeded our expectations,” stated Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail. “We saw broad based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects.”

Although customer transactions decreased by 1%, the average spending per receipt rose to $92.50 from $90.01 in the prior year. Home Depot also announced the national rollout of its express delivery service, aiming to deliver orders to customers within three hours for a small flat fee, without requiring a subscription.

For the three months ending Aug. 2, the company reported earnings of $4.77 billion, or $4.79 per share, an increase from $4.55 billion, or $4.58 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $4.92 per share, exceeding the $4.73 per share predicted by analysts.

Despite these solid quarterly performances, Home Depot maintained its previously issued sales growth guidance for 2026, projecting a range of 2.5% to 4.5%. Expectations for comparable sales remained unchanged, anticipated to be flat to up 2%.

The U.S. housing market has experienced a slump since 2022, following a period of historically low mortgage rates that previously fueled a surge in homebuying. While the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate saw a slight decrease last week, it remains higher than a year ago, with borrowing costs still elevated.

Sales of existing homes slowed again in July. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales fell 1.7% from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units. This slowdown is attributed to record home prices and mortgage rates at their highest in a year, presenting significant challenges for many potential buyers. The U.S. median sales price for existing homes increased by 2% from the previous year, reaching $434,100 in July.