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The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) — Earnings Call X-Ray

Our AI read all 37 of HD's earnings calls (2016–2025) and answered the same battery of questions about each one. Every past call is free; the newest quarter unlocks with a free account.

Latest Call Grade
🔒
Q4 2024 · sign up to see
Previous Call Grade
B
Q3 2024
Expected Move
🔒
next 45 days · members
Calls Analyzed
37
2016–2025
Avg Candor
7.3/9
evasion 2.8/9
Guidance RaisedHigh CandorSkeptic ReassuredCritic AmmunitionMargins ContractingResults Worse Than Direction

Call-by-call analysis

🔒 Q4 2024 earnings call 2025-02-25 NEWEST

Guidance: ■■■■■Demand: ■■■■■■ Margins: ■■■■Backlog: ■■■■ ■ analysts, ■■ questionsexpected move ±■■%
Candor /9
Specificity /9
Evasion /9
Stress /9

Management ■■■■■■ guidance against ■■■■■■■■ demand and ■■■■■■■ margins. The delivery was ■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■ in specifics, with ■■■ questions left hanging.

🔒 The Q4 2024 call grade is ready
The full 37-point AI read of HD's newest earnings call — grade, expected move, and every question answered — is free with an account.
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B Q3 2024 earnings call 2024-11-12 move ±8.1%

Management raised guidance against mixed demand signals and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: raisedDemand: mixedMargins: contractingPricing: stableCapex: flat 8 analysts · 13 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubtsDirection beats results
Candor 7/9
Specificity 7/9
Evasion 3/9
Confidence 6/9
Uncertainty 6/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 2/9
Complexity 3/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

C Q2 2024 earnings call 2024-08-13 move ±8.4%

Management lowered guidance against slowing demand. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: loweredDemand: slowingMargins: stablePricing: stableCapex: increasing 8 analysts · 14 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition⚑ Question left hanging✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts✓ Early product, fast growth⚑ Reads rehearsed
Candor 7/9
Specificity 8/9
Evasion 2/9
Confidence 6/9
Uncertainty 5/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 3/9
Complexity 4/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
NO Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
YES Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
YES Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
YES Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
YES Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
YES Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
YES Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

C+ Q1 2024 earnings call 2024-05-14 move ±8.2%

Management held guidance steady against mixed demand signals. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: maintainedDemand: mixedMargins: stableBacklog: stablePricing: under pressureHeadcount: flatCapex: increasing 9 analysts · 18 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubtsDirection beats results
Candor 7/9
Specificity 8/9
Evasion 3/9
Confidence 7/9
Uncertainty 4/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 3/9
Complexity 5/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
YES Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
YES Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

C+ Q4 2023 earnings call 2024-02-20 move ±6.6%

Management held guidance steady against slowing demand and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: maintainedDemand: slowingMargins: contractingBacklog: shrinkingPricing: stableCapex: flat 8 analysts · 15 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubtsDirection beats results
Candor 7/9
Specificity 7/9
Evasion 3/9
Confidence 7/9
Uncertainty 4/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 2/9
Complexity 4/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

C Q3 2023 earnings call 2023-11-14 move ±8.5%

Management lowered guidance against steady demand and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: loweredDemand: stableMargins: contractingBacklog: shrinkingPricing: stableCapex: flat 11 analysts · 22 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubts
Candor 7/9
Specificity 8/9
Evasion 4/9
Confidence 6/9
Uncertainty 5/9
Promotion 3/9
Stress 2/9
Complexity 5/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
NO Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
YES Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
NO Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

C+ Q2 2023 earnings call 2023-08-15 move ±5.7%

Management held guidance steady against mixed demand signals and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: maintainedDemand: mixedMargins: contractingBacklog: shrinkingPricing: under pressureCapex: flat 11 analysts · 24 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition✓ Skeptic reassured⚑ Question left hanging✓ Guidance underwritable✓ Resolves doubtsDirection beats results
Candor 7/9
Specificity 8/9
Evasion 4/9
Confidence 6/9
Uncertainty 5/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 3/9
Complexity 3/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
YES Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
YES Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
YES Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
YES Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

D Q1 2023 earnings call 2023-05-16 move ±9.8%

Management lowered guidance against slowing demand and contracting margins. The delivery was unusually candid, rich in specifics.

Guidance: loweredDemand: slowingMargins: contractingBacklog: shrinkingPricing: under pressureHeadcount: growingCapex: flat 10 analysts · 19 questions
⚑ Critic ammunition⚑ Question left hangingDirection beats results
Candor 8/9
Specificity 8/9
Evasion 2/9
Confidence 6/9
Uncertainty 7/9
Promotion 4/9
Stress 4/9
Complexity 5/9
All 20 questions our AI answered about this call
NO Would a skeptical short-seller find this call reassuring?
NO Would a careful investor underwrite management's guidance?
YES Is management's confidence proportionate to the evidence presented?
NO Does the call resolve more doubts than it creates?
YES Is there something a critic could fairly use against the company?
NO Is a claimed advantage dependent on scale they lack?
YES Does an obvious question remain unanswered?
NO Is a product early in its life but growing very fast?
NO Do they serve a small fraction of their addressable customers?
NO Is volume about to step up rather than grow gradually?
NO Are high fixed costs currently underutilised?
NO Is pricing recovering from a depressed level?
YES Do current results look bad while the direction looks better?
NO Are deferred revenue or customer prepayments growing?
NO Is consolidation happening among their peers?
NO Is a founder still running the company?
NO Does the final speaker sound like they are summarizing a finished story?
NO Is a fast-growing segment obscured by a declining one?
NO Does the CFO speak more than the CEO?
NO Does the call read rehearsed rather than lived?

Earlier calls

CallDateGradeGuidanceDemandMarginsCandorEvasion
Q4 2022 2023-02-21 C loweredslowingcontracting 7/9 2/9
Q3 2022 2022-11-15 C+ maintainedmixedstable 7/9 4/9
Q2 2022 2022-08-16 C+ maintainedstablestable 7/9 3/9
Q1 2022 2022-05-17 A raisedstablecontracting 7/9 2/9
Q4 2021 2022-02-22 B+ maintainedstablestable 7/9 3/9
Q3 2021 2021-11-16 B+ maintainedacceleratingstable 7/9 2/9
Q2 2021 2021-08-17 C+ nonestablecontracting 7/9 3/9
Q1 2021 2021-05-18 C+ noneacceleratingexpanding 7/9 6/9
Q4 2020 2021-02-23 D withdrawnacceleratingcontracting 7/9 4/9
Q3 2020 2020-11-17 C noneacceleratingstable 7/9 5/9
Q2 2020 2020-08-18 C+ noneacceleratingstable 7/9 4/9
Q1 2020 2020-05-19 C withdrawnacceleratingcontracting 8/9 4/9
Q4 2019 2020-02-25 C+ maintainedstablecontracting 7/9 3/9
Q3 2019 2019-11-19 C loweredstablecontracting 7/9 4/9
Q2 2019 2019-08-20 B+ loweredacceleratingcontracting 8/9 2/9
Q1 2019 2019-05-21 B maintainedmixedstable 8/9 3/9
Q4 2018 2019-02-26 B+ maintainedstablestable 7/9 3/9
Q3 2018 2018-11-13 B+ raisedstablestable 7/9 3/9
Q2 2018 2018-08-14 A raisedacceleratingexpanding 8/9 2/9
Q1 2018 2018-05-15 A maintainedacceleratingcontracting 8/9 2/9
Q4 2017 2018-02-20 B+ maintainedacceleratingstable 8/9 1/9
Q3 2017 2017-11-14 A raisedacceleratingstable 8/9 3/9
Q2 2017 2017-08-15 B+ raisedacceleratingstable 7/9 2/9
Q1 2017 2017-05-16 A raisedacceleratingstable 7/9 1/9
Q4 2016 2017-02-21 A maintainedacceleratingstable 7/9 2/9
Q3 2016 2016-11-15 A raisedacceleratingexpanding 8/9 2/9
Q2 2016 2016-08-16 A raisedacceleratingexpanding 8/9 2/9
Q1 2016 2016-05-17 A raisedacceleratingexpanding 8/9 2/9
Q4 2015 2016-02-23 A maintainedacceleratingstable 8/9 1/9

Research question bank — earlier calls

During our 1,600-question research program, batches of experimental hypotheses were tested directly against some of HD's earlier calls. The YES answers — the rare hits — are shown; click any question to see every company that matched it. Full list: the question bank.

A Q4 2015 earnings call 2016-02-23

307 more research questions answered NO

How to read this page

The grade is a transparent composite of call quality — candor, specificity, low evasion, low stress, whether the call resolves more doubts than it creates, and the guidance action — not a buy or sell signal. The expected move is a volatility estimate from the one signal that survived our out-of-sample tests: how a stock's own reaction and pre-call volatility predict the size (not direction) of its next move. Full detail, including everything that failed: methodology.

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HCXLF   All “H” companies    HDB

Not investment advice. Artul.ai publishes AI-generated earnings-call quality grades and expected-volatility estimates — never buy or sell recommendations. We tested over 1,600 predictive hypotheses against 165,000 transcripts; the honest result, including what failed, is documented in our methodology.