Home Depot delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations on Tuesday, helped by strong demand from professional contractors and builders.
Consumers spent more on houses, home improvement products, appliances and autos than on discretionary items such as apparel in the August-October quarter, analysts said.
Smaller rival Lowe's, which will report on Wednesday, is also expected to have benefited from strong spending on housing.
The report sent Home Depot's premarket share price higher.
The home improvement retailer posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.36 per share, up from $1.11 in the year-earlier period. The quarter's earnings were reduced by one cent a share due to costs associated with a 2014 data breach, the company said.
Revenue rose to $21.82 billion from $20.52 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected the company to post earnings per share of $1.32 on revenue of $21.82 billion.
"I think the big headline here is going to be that, following a lot of missteps by retailers lately, this is a bright spot," Brian Nagel, Oppenheimer & Co. senior equity research analyst, told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
The company also said it expected profit and same-store sales for the year ending January to come in at the top end of its forecasts, helping to send its shares up 2.5 percent in premarket trading. (Get the latest quote here.)
Consumers spent more on houses, home improvement products, appliances and autos than on discretionary items such as apparel in the August-October quarter, analysts have said.
The housing recovery in the United States has been gaining traction, with homebuilder sentiment hitting decade highs in July, August and September, according to data from the National Association of Hom Builders.
Builders' confidence rose to a near 10-year high in October, according to a survey released last month.
Home Depot's strong results contrast with those of department store operators Macy's Inc and Nordstrom Inc last week, which cast a pall over the retail industry ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Home Depot's shares fell 4.7 percent last week, less than the 6.6 percent decline in the S&P 500 retail index.
Home Depot same-store sales rose 5.1 percent in the third quarter ended Nov. 1, above the 4.6 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.
Comparable sales at its U.S. stores rose 7.3 percent, comfortably ahead of analysts' average estimate of 5.9 percent.
The company expects overall same-store sales to grow 4.9 percent in the year ending January.
Shares of retailers such as Macy's and Urban Outfitters have taken a hit after recently posting disappointing quarterly results.
"What we've seen for a while now is home improvement has performed better than other areas of retail. I tend to think that retailers like Macy's are hit harder by weather," Nagel said."
Home Depot's stock has outperformed those of rival retailer Lowe's this year, rising more than 15 percent. Lowe's stock is up about 3 percent in 2015.
Home Depot stock year to date
—Reuters contributed to this report.