Home Depot courts contractors as US economy weighs on the DIY set
Source · Retail desk
— Summary
Home Depot, the $350bn US home-improvement giant, is spending billions of dollars to attract more professional contractors and builders as high interest rates and a frozen housing market weigh on do-it-yourself shoppers. A series of deals has added wholesale distributors of roofing shingles, drywall and HVAC equipment to the group. CEO Ted Decker told the FT that with housing turnover flat and no growth in new construction, "our growth has to come from share capture right now".
Professionals account for about 9mn customers and roughly $90bn of Home Depot's $165bn in annual sales - more than half - but executives say the total pro market is worth $700bn, and "we have the right to win all" of it, per CFO Richard McPhail. In 2024 Home Depot acquired roofing-and-landscaping distributor SRS Distribution for $18.3bn, and added drywall and steel-framing specialist GMS for $5.5bn last year. SRS has 1,200 locations and is opening 40 to 50 more a year. Home Depot is also opening 17 flatbed distribution centres to ship products directly to job sites.
The cost of a typical remodelling project has risen 45% since 2019. Executives forecast total sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5% in 2026, well below pre-pandemic averages. Rivals are also consolidating: Lowe's paid $8.8bn for Foundation Building Materials last year; Brad Jacobs's QXO just bought insulation group TopBuild for $17bn. Source: Financial Times, 21 April 2026, Gregory Meyer.
The story in one line. With US housing turnover flat and DIY demand soft, Home Depot is spending billions on wholesale distributors to capture a bigger slice of the $700bn professional contractor market.
Key numbers
$350bn Home Depot’s equity value, the #3 US brick-and-mortar retailer
$165bn total FY2025 sales; $90bn from 9mn professional customers
$700bn total US pro market, of which Home Depot wants more
$18.3bn paid for SRS Distribution (roofing, landscaping, pool supplies) in 2024
$5.5bn paid for GMS (drywall, steel framing) in 2025
1,200 SRS locations; 40-50 new openings per year
17 flatbed distribution centres Home Depot is opening to deliver direct to job sites
2.5% - 4.5% forecast sales growth in 2026, well below pre-pandemic averages
+45% rise in the cost of a typical remodelling project since 2019
2,350 Home Depot stores across the US, Canada and Mexico (vs 1,750 for Lowe’s)
Why it matters
The US building-products distribution sector is consolidating fast. Home Depot’s bet is that serving contractors end-to-end - retail store visits, flatbed deliveries, financing, wholesale - can unlock growth even in a flat housing market. Lowe’s is chasing the same pros with its own deals (Foundation Building Materials, Artisan Design Group). Brad Jacobs’s QXO is rolling up the industry from the other direction with its $17bn TopBuild purchase.
Takeaway
The simple story - “Home Depot is for weekend DIYers” - no longer holds. More than half the group’s revenue already comes from pros, and the M&A push suggests a future where Home Depot effectively operates a two-sided business: retail warehouses for consumers, and a wholesale-plus-jobsite-delivery model for builders. Execution risk is real given the $23bn+ of deal value to integrate, but the strategic logic fits a housing market that may stay stuck for years.
Source: Financial Times, 21 April 2026, Gregory Meyer.