Home Depot Inc Q4 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Steven Paul Forbes - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division - Analyst : Richard, I wanted to focus on the outlook for strategic spending. So maybe both my questions will really be focused to your -- you mentioned the $325 million of quarterly spend. And I think that's been consistent for the past 2 quarters. So any color on how we should be modeling the quarterly investment spend, especially given your prior commentary, right, that I think we should expect the absolute level to be neutral on a year-over-year basis?

Question: Steven Paul Forbes - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division - Analyst : And maybe just a follow-up on that comment. Again, if you can, right, if we think about what transpired over the past couple of years at the quarterly level of investment spend, I think, ramped from $75 million, which was considered business as usual to this $325 million. So are your commentaries implying that we should expect, maybe not this year, but over a multiyear period to return to those prior levels of investment spend or normal case investment spend? Or should we anticipate a return to a above right that $75 million level given just the incremental needs of the business. Any more detailed commentary would be helpful.