Good position as the world's largest home improvement retailer; Improving U.S. housing market; Meaningful operating efficiency improvements; and Intense competition from brick-and-mortar and online retailers. Meaningful increase in share repurchases; Solid free cash flow generation; and Strong liquidity. The stable rating outlook on Home Depot Inc. reflects our expectation for modest profitability gains from good momentum in the housing market, with better home sales and continued growth in repair and remodeling activities. Following the recent debt issuance, we expect Home Depot to almost reach its internally calculated 2x leverage target. This translates into Standard&Poor's leverage, funds from operations (FFO)-to-total debt, and EBITDA interest coverage of about 2x, 40%, and 10x, respectively. We would consider a lower rating if
