Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view that Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc.'s business risk profile is "strong" (as our criteria define the term) reflects its No. 1 position as the largest home improvement retailer in the world, supported by its substantial U.S. store footprint, its improved profitability, and solid free cash flow-generating ability. We believe its profitability is sustainable and could improve modestly absent a meaningful economic downturn. We classify Home Depot's financial risk as "intermediate." Our categorization incorporates our expectation that the company will maintain its recently revised target internal leverage metric at 2x, resulting in credit measures remaining near current levels. These include leverage of 2x, funds from operations (FFO) to total debt of about 35%, and EBITDA interest
