[naviga:h3]Bad weather, real estate market chill Home Depot’s sales[/naviga:h3]

ATLANTA — Strains in the nation’s housing sector, coupled with nasty weather across the U.S., took their toll on Home Depot’s sales in the last few months of 2018.

And more disconcerting news about the state of the U.S. housing market could make for a challenging 2019 for the home-improvement giant.

In the fourth quarter, Home Depot fell short on profit, revenue and same-stores sales as rising real estate prices cast a chill over U.S. home sales.

And the weather was terrible.

“It was cold, it was snowy, and perhaps worst of all, it was wet,” CEO Craig Menear told analysts after the release of the Atlanta-based company’s results. “Wet weather delays projects, and this was evidenced in our sales performance in the quarter.”

The company does not expect its comparable-store sales growth, a key gauge of health in the retail industry, will be as strong this year as it was in 2018.

Home Depot’s stock slipped about 1 percent Tuesday.

[naviga:h3]Papa John’s, after tough year, expects improvement in ’19[/naviga:h3]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Papa John’s closed out a tough year on a weak note but said it expects improvement in 2019.

The Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain said sales at established locations in North America dropped 8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year ago. International same-store sales were down 3 percent.

But Papa John’s said Tuesday it’s confident it can stem those losses this year with new products and new leadership. It expects same-store sales will be down 1 percent to 5 percent in North America this year and flat to positive 3 percent internationally.

Papa John’s is trying to turn things around after a difficult year that saw its founder, John Schnatter, resign as chairman after using a racial slur during a company conference call.