Home Depot's Successful $1.6 Billion Gamble to Drive Growth

While retail stocks have been hammered on Wall Street lately, one of the few exceptions to the rule is Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD). Since the beginning of the year, the giant home improvement retailer has given investors a greater than 15% return, handily beating the S&P 500 year to date. In its second quarter, Home Depot once again showed why it is still one of the best companies in the retail sector: Net sales grew to $28.1 billion, a 6.2% increase year over year, and diluted EPS rose to $2.25, a 14.2% increase. The all-important comparable-store sales were up 6.3%.

While Home Depot has had to do many things right to fuel the company's incredible success, one move that has clearly paid off was its $1.6 billion acquisition in 2015 of Interline Brands. Just a little over two years removed from one of the company's largest acquisitions, let's look at how Interline is being integrated into Home Depot's larger business and how it has spurred growth for the company. Check out this year-to-date chart of Home Depot's stock price and the S&P 500's.

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Source: Fool.com