HispanicBusiness

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 ATLANTA, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR
WIRE/ -- The Home Depot(R), the world's largest home improvement retailer,
today reported third quarter of fiscal 2009 net earnings of $689 million, or
$0.41 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $756 million, or $0.45
per diluted share, in the same period in fiscal 2008.

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 (Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO )

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 Sales for the third quarter totaled $16.4
billion, an 8.0 percent decrease from the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Comparable store sales for the third quarter were negative 6.9 percent, and
comp sales for U.S. stores were negative 7.1 percent.

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 "There is still a great deal of pressure
in the housing and home improvement markets, though there are some positive
signs of stabilization," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0 "Our business continues to perform well
in a difficult environment.\xA0 We grew
market share in the quarter, continued to transform our business and improved
customer service.\xA0 I want to thank our
associates for their hard work and dedication."

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 Updated Fiscal 2009 Guidance

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 Based
on its year-to-date performance, the Company continues to expect sales to be down
approximately 9 percent for the year.\xA0
The Company updated its fiscal 2009 EPS guidance and now expects diluted
earnings per share from continuing operations of approximately $1.50, up 9.5 percent from fiscal 2008.style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0 On an adjusted basis, the Company now
expects diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of approximately
$1.55 for the year, a decline from fiscal 2008 of approximately 13 percent.

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 The Home Depot will conduct a conference
call today at 9 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release
and related matters. The conference call will be available in its entirety
through a webcast and replay at homedepot.com in the Investor Relations
section.

style="mso-spacerun: yes">\xA0\xA0\xA0 At the end of the third quarter, the
Company operated a total of 2,242 retail stores, which included 1,975 The Home
Depot stores in the United States (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the territory of Guam), 179 stores
in Canada, 77 stores in Mexico and 11 stores in China. The Company employs more
than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and
Standard & Poor's 500 index.