NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Home Depot Inc. posted a 35 percent jump in first quarter-profit Tuesday, beating Wall Street forecasts, as the nation's largest home improvement retailer benefited from a strong housing market and expense controls.

But the company's stock fell 4 percent in morning trading Tuesday, losing $1.64 to $46.49 following the report.

Colin McGranahan, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, told Reuters that the company posted a strong quarter, but did not guide full-year earnings higher as rival Lowe's Corp. did on Monday.

Atlanta-based Home Depot (HD: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, reported earnings of $856 million, or 36 cents a share, for its first quarter ended May 5, up from $632 million, or 27 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call expected a profit of 33 cents a share.

Sales rose 17 percent to $14.3 billion, slightly below analysts' forecasts of $14.6 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge known as same-store sales, rose 5 percent. The company also said it expects to meet Wall Street forecasts for a second-quarter profit of 47 cents a share.

Home Depot's earnings come a day after smaller rival Lowe's Corp. (LOW: Research, Estimates) reported a 53 percent jump in first-quarter earnings. Both companies are benefiting as Americans refurbish and redecorate their homes, as low-mortgage loans rates have prompted a boom in home purchases and refinancing.

"The increasing strength of our balance sheet and improving fundamentals in sales and margins are allowing us to stay on strategy this year as we did last year and invest for the future as we continue to seek out new sources of growth and opportunity," CEO Robert Nardelli said in a statement.

The company, which has streamlined its inventory and is expanding its services to commercial contractors, said it had $5.2 billion in cash and that its debt remained low despite opening 57 stores in the quarter, a company record.