Home Depot CFO says tariffs won't spur price increases

Home Depot said Tuesday it does not plan to hike prices because of President Trump’s tariffs, though it may have to remove some products because of the levies.

Company executives said they have “tremendous flexibility” because more than half of the home-improvement retailer’s products come from the U.S. It has decreased its share of products from China and, within a year, no single foreign country will account for more than 10% of its purchases.

“We don’t see broad-based price increases for our customers at all going forward,” Billy Bastek, Home Depot’s executive vice president of merchandising told investors on a quarterly earnings call. 

However, he said, “there are items that we have that could potentially be impacted from a tariff that, candidly, we won’t have going forward.”

Company officials also said the economic picture has improved, with fears of a recession “way down” compared to earlier in the spring.

The decision to keep prices flat is a contrast with Walmart, which recently said tariffs are “still too high” and consumers might see higher costs by the end of May.

Mr. Trump slapped a 10% tariff on all imported goods and is charging a 30% tax on Chinese goods, a de-escalation from tariffs that exceeded 100% during a trade spat with Beijing.

The administration said it could impose higher tariffs on specific trading partners if countries are unable to negotiate down the levies by early July.

Some companies are adjusting their earnings forecasts or how they source their products, given the new tariffs.

Mr. Trump characterizes the tariffs as a tax on foreign nations, but importers pay the tariffs to customs officials and sometimes pass along the cost to consumers.

The president reacted furiously to Walmart’s warning about higher prices.

“Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS  last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING,” he said on Truth Social. “I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

Walmart, a retail behemoth known for low prices, said the tariffs are too high to absorb and are unprecedented in scale.