THE HOME DEPOT DECLARES TWO-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT;
20% CASH DIVIDEND INCREASE
12th Stock Split Since Going Public in 1981
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, May 27, 1998 - The Home Depot, North America's largest home improvement retailer, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock split of two shares of its outstanding $0.05 par value Common Stock for each one share outstanding. The stock split announced today will be The Home Depot's twelfth stock split since the Company went public in 1981.
To effect the split, the Board of Directors declared a stock dividend of one share of Common Stock for each share of Common Stock outstanding, payable July 2, 1998 to stockholders of record on June 11, 1998.
The Board of Directors also declared a 20% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.06 per pre-split share payable June 25, 1998, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 11, 1998. On a post-split basis, the dividend is equivalent to $0.03 per share. This is the forty-fourth consecutive quarter that the Company has paid a cash dividend.
Founded in 1978, Atlanta-based Home Depot currently operates 660 stores throughout North America. For the past five years, Fortune magazine has named the Company America's Most Admired Retailer. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HD" and is included in the Standard & Poor's Index.
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