NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 3, 2003--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its 'AA' corporate credit rating on home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. and revised its outlook on the company to negative from stable. Approximately $1.3 billion of debt is affected by this action. The outlook change reflects Atlanta, Ga.-based Home Depot's revised expectations for same-store sales declines of as much as 10% for the fourth quarter of 2002. Home Depot also lowered its earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2002. Lower transaction counts and lower-than-expected performance in traditional gift categories severely impacted December results. Home Depot also indicated there is a likelihood that current business trends could result in a challenging environment well
