Home Depot investors can’t have been shocked by Tuesday’s profit warning

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) investors were well braced, with the share up slightly in New York, despite downgraded forecasts for full-year sales and profit.

Consumer demand for home improvement projects has weakened amidst higher interest rates and broader economic uncertainty, the DIY retailer highlighted (somewhat unsurprisingly).

The company noted that higher mortgage rates and persistent inflation have led customers to delay major home improvement projects, further impacting sales.

Home Depot reported a 3.6% decline in US comparable sales for its second quarter, which was notably worse than a 2.5% drop predicted by Wall Street analysts.

The company did confirm an inorganic bump, however, with its recently acquired SRS Distribution adding $1.3 billion of sales to the quarter's tally.

Overall customer transactions decreased by 1.8%, and the average amount spent by customers also declined.

Revenue came in at $43.18 billion, a shade above the $43.06 billion predicted by Wall Street, whilst earnings per share was reported at $4.60 which similarly outperformed the market estimate.

Home Depot said it now expects to see annual comparable sales to fall by 3% to 4%, a significant downgrade from its previously estimated 1% decline.

It also expects earnings per share to decrease by 2% to 4% for the year, compared to earlier forecasts that eyed slight growth.

Such has been the focus on America’s macroeconomic woes in recent weeks, and that the stock was off more than 3% in the past month, investors were evidently no especially shocked by Tuesday's profit warning.

In New York, Home Depot stock was up 0.27% changing hands $346.74.