Home Depot Shares up 7% After Pleasing the Street

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares are up 7% today to $20.19 after posting a $1.54 billion loss in Q4 and same-stores sales down 15%, but it was good enough for Wall Street.

These days is all about setting or beating analyst expectations more than it is actual numbers or how healthy a company may be, its just the market we are forced to invest in today. HD's profit from continuing operations was 19 cents a share, better than analysts' average estimate of 15 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company plans to open fewer new stores and said per-share profit would fall for a third consecutive year in 2009 as the recession and softer U.S. housing market eat into sales.  Add to it Home Depot will be cutting 7,000 jobs as it shutters its Expo Design Center chain and trims corporate costs.

The full-year outlook assumes no further share buybacks or any potential sales benefit from a U.S. economic stimulus package, Home Depot said