Home Depot earnings soar 72% in Q4

ATLANTA -- Home Depot reported Tuesday that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 30 surged 72% to $587 million, compared with $342 million a year earlier, and and the home-improvement chain provided 2011 guidance at or above the views it gave in December. Results were helped by a strong showing in the United States. Revenue increased 3.8% to $15.12 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $14.81 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.9% and were up 4.8% in the United States. For the year, net income rose 25%to $3.34 billion from $2.66 billion, or $1.57 per share. Revenue rose 2.8% to