LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 20: Exterior sign of Lowe’s home improvement store seen on August 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The company beat expectations for fiscal second-quarter earnings, but saw sales decline and lowered its full-year outlook, blaming inflation. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
Eric Thayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Low’s Quarterly earnings beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as outdoor do-it-yourself projects, the home professional business and strong online shopping fueled sales.
Yet despite the better-than-expected results, the home improvement retailer is projecting a year-over-year sales decline. The company updated its full-year guidance on Tuesday, and now expects total sales to be between $83 billion and $83.5 billion, up from its previous forecast of $82.7 billion to $83.2 billion. It said it expects comparable sales to fall 3% to 3.5%, slightly better than the 3.5% to 4% decline it had previously forecast.
Lowe’s is ending a period a year ago when the company lowered its outlook and saw year-over-year sales fall about 13%. It also lowered its full-year forecast in August, as it predicted weaker home improvement demand in the back half of the year due to higher interest rates.
Based on LSEG’s survey of analysts, what the company reported for the three-month period ended Nov. 1 compared with Wall Street’s expectations:
- Earnings per share: $2.89 adjusted vs. $2.82 expected
- Income: $20.17 billion vs. $19.95 billion expected
In the fiscal third quarter, Lowe’s net income fell to $1.7 billion, or $2.99 per share. That compared to $1.77 billion, or $3.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell from $20.47 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Lowe’s competitor, Home Depotreported last week that after two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, consumers are still putting off big projects and expensive purchases. Home Depot beat Wall Street’s sales and earnings expectations, yet posted its eighth consecutive quarter of comparable sales declines. However, it saw some improvement in sales trends due to hurricane-related demand, warm-weather home projects and the acquisition of SRS Distribution, which sells products to landscaping, pool and roofing professionals. does
As of Monday’s close, Lowe’s shares had gained about 22 percent this year. That’s lower than the S&P 500’s roughly 24% gains over the same period. The company’s stock closed Monday at $271.77, giving Lowe a market value of $154.17 billion.
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