The Home Depot

In April 1978, Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank and Ron Brill were fired from Handy Dan. Marcus was 49.⁠[1]

That year, Marcus and Blank dreamed up The Home Depot in a Los Angeles coffee shop, with help from investment banker Ken Langone, merchandising expert Pat Farrah and first finance officer Ron Brill.⁠[2]

On June 29, 1978, The Home Depot Inc. was incorporated in Delaware.⁠[3]

On June 22, 1979, the first two Home Depot stores opened on Memorial Drive and Buford Highway in Atlanta, Georgia.⁠[3]

On September 22, 1981, The Home Depot’s stock went public on NASDAQ, raising $4.093 million.⁠[4]

The shares were offered at $12 each. The same year, the first Florida stores opened in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale.⁠[5]

In April 1984, the shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That year the company bought Bowater Home Center for $40 million.⁠[6]

In 1986, The Home Depot began focusing on Pro customers.⁠[5]

In 1988, The Home Depot was included in the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry stock index.⁠[4]

In 1989, the 100th store opened in Monrovia, California. In 1990, The Home Depot became the largest home improvement retailer in the U.S.⁠[3]

In 1991, the first EXPO Design Center opened in San Diego, California.⁠[4]

In 1994, The Home Depot acquired Aikenhead’s stores to create its Canadian division.⁠[5]

In 1997, Arthur Blank succeeded Bernie Marcus as CEO.⁠[4][7]

In 1999, the stock was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.⁠[7]

Robert L. Nardelli became President and Chief Executive Officer in December 2000 and Chairman on January 1, 2002.⁠[8]

In 2001, The Home Depot expanded into Mexico with the acquisition of Total Home.⁠[9]

In June 2002, it purchased the assets of Madereria Del Norte, a four-store chain in Juarez, Mexico.⁠[8]

In 2006, HD Supply acquired 12 companies including Hughes Supply, and the company bought 12 Homeway stores in China.⁠[7]

In January 2007, Nardelli resigned following complaints about his management style, and Frank Blake replaced him as CEO.⁠[6]

Nardelli’s $210 million severance package drew criticism. Blake later sold HD Supply.⁠[7]

On September 13, 2012, The Home Depot announced the closure of its seven big box stores in China, affecting about 850 associates, with an after-tax charge of about $160 million in the third quarter; it kept two specialty stores in Tianjin. Chairman and CEO Frank Blake said: “Closing stores is always a difficult decision.”⁠[10]

On August 21, 2014, The Home Depot named Craig Menear, president of U.S. retail, CEO and president effective November 1, and elected him to the board immediately. Frank Blake, chairman and CEO since 2007, would remain chairman.⁠[11]

In the third quarter of fiscal 2014, The Home Depot confirmed that its payment data systems had been breached, affecting payment card information of up to 56 million customers who shopped at its U.S. and Canadian stores between April and September 2014. About 53 million email addresses were also taken. It recorded $63 million of pretax expenses for the breach that year, or $33 million net of insurance.⁠[12]

On November 6, 2014, the company disclosed that attackers had used a third-party vendor’s user name and password to enter the perimeter of its network and had deployed “unique, custom-built malware” on self-checkout systems in the U.S. and Canada.⁠[13]

In November 2020, the company agreed to pay $17.5 million over the breach and to hire a chief information security officer.⁠[6]

In 2015, The Home Depot announced the acquisition of Interline Brands, Inc.⁠[9]

In 2017, it acquired Compact Power Equipment, Inc. and The Company Store, and sales surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2017.⁠[5]

The Home Depot announced its agreement to acquire HD Supply Holdings, Inc. on November 16, 2020, and completed the deal on December 24, paying $56 per share in cash for a total enterprise value of about $8 billion. HD Supply distributes maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products to the multifamily and hospitality markets.⁠[14]

An investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resulted in a consent decree in April 2021, followed by discussions with the EPA about compliance with it. The company lists the matter among risks related to managing its installation services.⁠[15]

On January 27, 2022, The Home Depot named Ted Decker, who joined the company in 2000 and had been president and chief operating officer since October 2020, CEO and president effective March 1. He also joined the board, and Craig Menear continued as chair.⁠[16]

On August 18, 2022, the board elected Decker chair effective October 1, succeeding Menear, who retired as chair on September 30.⁠[17]

On June 18, 2024, The Home Depot completed its acquisition of SRS Distribution.⁠[18]

On November 5, 2024, The Home Depot mourned the passing of its founder Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, who was born in 1929. In 1999 he, Arthur Blank and Ken Langone started The Homer Fund to help associates facing hardship.⁠[1]

On September 4, 2025, The Home Depot and its subsidiary SRS completed the acquisition of specialty building products distributor GMS Inc. for $110 per share in cash, a total enterprise value of about $5.5 billion including net debt. Chair, President and CEO Ted Decker said “the combination of SRS and GMS will enable cross-selling synergies.”⁠[19]

At the end of fiscal 2025 on February 1, 2026, The Home Depot operated 2,359 stores and employed approximately 472,400 associates.⁠[20]

On February 24, 2026, The Home Depot posted fiscal 2025 sales of $164.7 billion, up 3.2 percent from the 53-week fiscal 2024, and net earnings of $14.2 billion, or $14.23 per diluted share, compared with $14.8 billion and $14.91 in fiscal 2024. Comparable sales rose 0.3 percent.⁠[21]

On August 12, 2026, The Home Depot said Chair, President and CEO Ted Decker was taking a temporary medical leave and was expected to return “within the next few months.” Meanwhile, Senior Executive Vice President Ann-Marie Campbell would oversee day-to-day operations, CFO Richard McPhail financial management, and independent lead director Greg Brenneman would chair the board.⁠[22]

On August 18, 2026, The Home Depot posted second-quarter fiscal 2026 sales of $47.9 billion, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, with comparable sales up 1.7 percent. Net earnings were $4.8 billion, or $4.79 per diluted share, compared with $4.58 a year earlier. It operated 2,364 stores at quarter end.⁠[23]