It seems like a lot of companies are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for one reason or another. Whether it is replacing employees or giving customers a boost, there is a clearly growing number of use cases for this technology. Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) is no different on this front, bringing out a new AI-driven tool to help house flippers. The move sat well with investors, and shares gained nearly 1.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Home Depot is getting together with Kai, an AI-powered tool that lets users identify just what a house needs before it can be put on the market for the best possible effect. It takes pictures and video, and then converts these into “…SKU-level material specifications and cost estimates.” That in turn makes home renovations a somewhat simpler process.
Granted, with the housing market the way it is these days, you could put a cardboard box on a postage-stamp-sized lot and still get offers. But for the best shot at a sale with the best payday, the combination of Kai and Home Depot could be exactly what is needed to get the job done. The tool reportedly works on everything from interior doors to furnaces, which pretty much covers the waterfront.
“…A Monumental Mistake”
Home Depot’s cofounder Ken Langone is no stranger to speaking up around political matters, and he recently did so once more. He came out about the New York mayoral election, and declared that “New York is on the verge of making a monumental mistake.” Here, Langone seems to refer to current mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, a common sticking point for a growing number of wealthy people with New York City connections.
And in Langone’s defense, it is reasonable. Langone is worth around $9.3 billion. Mamdani has been heard to say that billionaires should not exist. Thus, Langone’s distaste for Mamdani is less political and more a matter of personal survival. But Langone also brought out one more barb, this time aimed at a much larger population: “I have a simple recommendation for anyone who has problems with America. Why don’t you leave?”
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 19 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.99% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $446.30 per share implies 16.48% upside potential.
