ATLANTA — Home Depot said today its fiscal second quarter profit fell 7 percent, as the nation's biggest home-improvement retailer shuttered its Expo business and continued to be pinched by the recession.

Still, the Atlanta-based company's adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations, and it lifted its guidance for full-year earnings from continuing operations.

Shares rose 39 cents to $26.50 in premarket trading.

Home Depot earned $1.12 billion, or 66 cents per share, for the period ended Aug. 2. That's down from $1.2 billion, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding Expo-related charges, profit was 67 cents per share, topping analysts' forecasts for 59 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Home Depot had announced in January it planned to close its 34 Expo Design Centers.