Home Depot stores

The core retail business: home improvement stores selling building materials, tools, appliances, paint, lumber and lawn and garden products to DIY customers and some contractors. Revenue depends on housing turnover, repair and remodel spending, and big-ticket items.

Why it matters to the stock. Stores produce most of Home Depot's cash flow and set the company's comparable sales, which move the stock more than any other single number. Traders watch U.S. comparable sales for signs that the housing slowdown is ending.