Increased second quarter earnings for Home Depot

ATLANTA - The Home Depot Incorporated reports a 28 percent increase in second quarter earnings Tuesday as the company added 51 new stores. <br> <br> The nation&#39;s largest home improvement retailer -- based in Atlanta -- says its profit for the quarter was $1.18 billion -- or 50 cents per share. Home Depot earned $924 million -- or 39 cents per share -- in the same quarter last year. <br> <br> Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 47 cents per share. <br> <br> Sales for the second quarter increased 12 percent to $16.3 billion. <br> <br> The results came a day after rival Lowe&#39;s Companies -- the nation&#39;s Number Two home improvement retailer -- announced a 42 percent increase in its second-quarter earnings. That exceeded Wall Street expectations. <br> <br> Home Depot expanded with four new stores in Mexico and 47 in the United States, bringing its total to 1,437.