Earlier this month The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) made headlines after it revealed a serious breach in its payment data system, in which files containing millions of email addresses were stolen.

Home Depot released its third-quarter earnings yesterday; did the Home Depot data breach impact its bottom line?

Home Depot – Company Profile

Home Depot’s motto is “Home Improvement Made Easy” because Home Depot is a one-stop shop for building and updating homes, with products available through both physical “big box” stores and an extensive online website. Home Depot also offers tool and truck rental services as well as its own credit center to facilitate financing large purchases.

Home Depot has 2,266 stores in all 50 U.S. states, Mexico and Canada.

Home Depot – Earnings Rundown

Home Depot reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. Home Depot’s sales increased more than 5% year-on-year to $20.52 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $20.47 billion. Net earnings for the quarter were $1.54 billion or $1.15 per share, a 17% increase from last year. Analysts were looking for earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2014, Home Depot expects earnings per share of $4.54, a 21% increase over fiscal 2013. Home Depot also anticipates 4.8% sales growth, which is above the Street view; analysts expect $4.50 earnings-per-share and 4.9% sales growth for the year.

As for the Home Depot data breach costs, it’s too early to say what the full impact will be. According to Home Depot, its fourth-quarter results may be impacted. Overall, Home Depot released a strong third-quarter report.

Home Depot – Current Ratings

HD spent much of the spring and summer in “sell” territory; however, there has been an uptick in buying pressure backing Home Depot stock. Currently, Home Depot stock earns a “B” for its Quantitative Grade.

Meanwhile, Home Depot’s fundamentals are in pretty good shape. Of the eight metrics I graded it on, Home Depot receives “B’s” on four: Operating margin growth, earnings growth, analyst earnings revisions and cash flow. Home Depot stock’s return on equity is its most impressive metric, earning an “A.” Meanwhile, earnings surprises, earnings momentum and sales growth need some improvement, earning “Cs.”

Overall, HD stock receives a “B” for its Fundamental Grade. As of this posting, Nov. 19, I consider HD stock a “B-rated buy” despite the Home Depot breach.

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip Growth, Emerging Growth, Ultimate Growth, Family Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.