🏠 The Home Depot — Key Facts
| Full Name | The Home Depot, Inc. |
| Stock Listing | NYSE: HD |
| CEO | Ted Decker (since 2022) |
| Founders | Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ron Brill, Pat Farrah (1978) |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Top Shareholders | Vanguard (~8%), BlackRock (~7%), State Street (~4%) |
| Revenue (FY2023) | ~$153 billion |
| Store Count | 2,300+ locations in US, Canada, Mexico |
The Home Depot is America’s largest home improvement retailer and one of the most valuable companies in the United States. With over 2,300 stores and revenues exceeding $153 billion, it is a publicly traded company (NYSE: HD) with no single controlling shareholder — its ownership is widely distributed among millions of institutional and individual investors, with Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street being the largest.
Who Is the Owner of The Home Depot?
The Home Depot is a publicly traded company with dispersed ownership. The top three institutional shareholders are Vanguard Group (~8%), BlackRock (~7%), and State Street (~4%). No individual or family holds a controlling stake. The company is governed by a Board of Directors and managed by CEO Ted Decker, who took over from Craig Menear in February 2022. The founders — Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank — are long retired; Marcus co-founded the company in 1978, and Blank later became owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.
Founding Story: From Fired to Fortune 500
The Home Depot’s founding story is one of American business legend. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired from Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers in 1978. With financial backing from venture capitalist Ken Langone, they opened the first Home Depot stores in Atlanta, Georgia in 1979. The concept — a massive “big box” format with full building supply inventory at low prices — was revolutionary. Within a decade, The Home Depot was a national chain; within two decades, it was the largest home improvement retailer in the world.
The Home Depot Today
Today, Home Depot serves both professional contractors (Pros) and do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners. The Pro segment has become increasingly important — contractors represent a smaller portion of customers but a disproportionate share of revenue. The company is also investing heavily in supply chain and e-commerce infrastructure. In 2024, The Home Depot announced the $18.25 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution, its largest deal ever, to deepen its Pro contractor services.
Related Reading
The Home Depot is one of several big-box US retailers covered here, alongside Costco.