Dive Brief:

• Home Depot reported Q4 sales of $19.2 billion, up 8.3%, and a same-store sales increase of 7.9%, handily beating expectations. But the retailer raised concerns about its inventory due to ongoing issues at West Coast ports, and said the strong dollar will hit 2015 sales by $1 billion. 

• Expenses from last year’s data breach came to $64 million so far, which will be mitigated to $33 million after insurance payments. The retailer said it faces a number of lawsuits over the breach.

• The company said it will buy back $18 billion of its shares and increased its quarterly dividend by 26%.

Dive Insight:

The improving housing market is helping Home Depot a lot, but not as much as expected. Home sales and construction have been slower than predicted. But the retailer was able to make up for that by increasing market share, according to CFO Carol Tomé. Much of that was from small contractors, who make up 3% of Home Depot customers and account for 35% of its sales, Tomé said.

“Their health is a proxy for the housing market,” Ms. Tomé said. “As housing recovers they have work and are spending more in our stores.”