NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Aug. 25, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today its 'AA' corporate credit rating and stable outlook for Atlanta, Ga.-based Home Depot Inc. (AA/Stable/A-1+) are unaffected by the company's announcement that its board had approved an additional $3.5 billion share repurchase program. However, ratings stability hinges on the assumption that the current program is completed over 18 to 24 months and that the company continues to fund most of its share repurchases with cash generated from operations. Despite expectations of slower industry demand (see the research report published Aug. 21, 2006, on RatingsDirect for more details), we anticipate operating cash flow generation to remain robust. The company generated $6.5 billion of operating cash flow in
