Home Depot 2015 Annual Report Download - page 3

Table of Contents
1
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO THE
PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
Certain statements contained herein regarding our future performance constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, the
demand for our products and services; net sales growth; comparable store sales; effects of competition; state of the economy;
state of the residential construction, housing and home improvement markets; state of the credit markets, including
mortgages, home equity loans and consumer credit; demand for credit offerings; inventory and in-stock positions;
implementation of store, interconnected retail and supply chain initiatives; management of relationships with our suppliers
and vendors; the impact and expected outcome of investigations, inquiries, claims and litigation, including those related to
the data breach we discovered in the third quarter of fiscal 2014; issues related to the payment methods we accept;
continuation of share repurchase programs; net earnings performance; earnings per share; capital allocation and expenditures;
liquidity; return on invested capital; expense leverage; stock-based compensation expense; commodity price inflation and
deflation; the ability to issue debt on terms and at rates acceptable to us; the effect of accounting charges; the effect of
adopting certain accounting standards; store openings and closures; financial outlook; and the integration of Interline Brands,
Inc. into our organization and the ability to recognize the anticipated synergies and benefits of the acquisition.
Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and our current assumptions, expectations and
projections about future events. You should not rely on our forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees
of future performance and are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties – many of which are beyond our control,
dependent on actions of third parties, or currently unknown to us – as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions that could
cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, those described in Item 1A, "Risk Factors", and elsewhere in this report.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update these statements
other than as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our
periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
PART I
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
The Home Depot, Inc. is the world’s largest home improvement retailer based on Net Sales for the fiscal year ended
January 31, 2016 ("fiscal 2015"). The Home Depot sells a wide assortment of building materials, home improvement
products and lawn and garden products and provides a number of services. The Home Depot stores average approximately
104,000 square feet of enclosed space, with approximately 24,000 additional square feet of outside garden area. As of the end
of fiscal 2015, we had 2,274 The Home Depot stores located throughout the United States, including the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico and the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, Canada and Mexico. When we refer to "The Home
Depot", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our" in this report, we are referring to The Home Depot, Inc. and its consolidated
subsidiaries.
The Home Depot, Inc. is a Delaware corporation that was incorporated in 1978. Our Store Support Center (corporate office)
is located at 2455 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30339. Our telephone number is [phone].
Our internet website is www.homedepot.com. We make available on the Investor Relations section of our website, free of
charge, our Annual Reports to shareholders, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current
Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements and Forms 3, 4 and 5, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably
practicable after filing such documents with, or furnishing such documents to, the SEC.
We include our website addresses throughout this filing for reference only. The information contained on our websites is not
incorporated by reference into this report.
For information on key financial highlights, including historical revenues, profits and total assets, see the "Five-Year
Summary of Financial and Operating Results" on page F-1 of this report and Item 7, "Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations".