Remember when, about three weeks ago, home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) founder Ken Langone came out and declared President Trump “one of our best presidents”? The president appears to be returning the favor, offering some public praise up to Langone. The mutual display of make-nice gave investors a small reason to cheer, and shares went up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Langone was not always on Trump’s side, and was concerned about the tariffs, among other things. But Langone turned things around, and discovered the tariffs would not hurt business, or his business, as hard as expected. That prompted a public turnaround. Rather, that prompted a second public turnaround; Langone had supported Trump in the 2016 election, but pivoted to Biden in the 2020, declaring himself to feel “betrayed” by the January 6 incident.
President Trump, meanwhile, did what he is known to do, taking pieces of that interview and declaring, “Thank you Ken. Very nice!.” Demonstrating support publicly for his own supporters is nothing new for Trump; just ask American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) about their Sydney Sweeney advertising.
The Holiday Trash Incident
Meanwhile, a new photo is making the rounds that might do some damage at Home Depot unless it can get out in front of it. The photo features stacks of holiday merchandise—mostly Christmas tree ornaments and holiday lights—stacked up near a trash bin, implying that the items are about to get thrown away as, apparently, they did not sell.
The idea that Home Depot is throwing out perfectly whole and usable retail items is an odd one, though as dumpster divers the world over know, it has happened before. While it is not immediately clear that the pictures are current, or even from Home Depot, the idea is tough to stomach and is earning some backlash accordingly. Stores stage clearance sales routinely—some even use a “Dutch auction” approach with larger deals the longer the items sit on the shelves—but surely there is a better strategy than throwing away such items.
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 12.56% rally in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $427.56 per share implies 10.32% upside potential.
