Wal-Mart has benefited from the credit markets in time of economic tension, but it caused a severe blow for the biggest home improvement chain, Home Depot. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an American public corporation, currently the world’s largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2007 Fortune Global 500. The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box format stores across the United States (including the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands), Canada (ten provinces), Mexico and China. Wal-Mart said this morning that its profit rose 8 percent in the third quarter, and the chain raised its earnings forecast for the full year. But Home Depot said its profit plunged 27 percent, and the company cut its forecast for the year. The starkly different performances suggest that American consumers, bruised by a struggling housing market and rising fuel prices, are forgoing expensive renovations in favor of deeply discounted merchandise. Bill Dreher, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, said Wal-Mart is ‘now well positioned for the current state of the economy’ because ‘consumers are shying away from higher-priced products.’ ‘Our financial performance in the third quarter reflects tough conditions,’ said the chief executive of Home Depot, Frank Blake. The company predicted that annual earnings per share from continuing operations could fall as much as 11 percent. With the credit market in turmoil, the company said it would not rush to finish its planned $22.5 billion stock repurchase program. So far, it has bought back $10.7 billion worth of shares. Image Source