Lowe’s topped third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates on Tuesday. The home improvement retailer raised its outlook but still expects full-year sales to decline from the prior year. Lowe’s rival, Home Depot, has noted customers are deferring big projects even after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.
Lowe’s beat Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations as outdoor do-it-yourself projects, the home professional business, and stronger online shopping fueled sales. Despite 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 of between $83 billion to $83.5 billion, higher than its previous forecast of $82.7 billion to $83.2 billion.
It said it expects comparable sales to decline 3% to 3.5%, slightly better than the 3.5% to 4% drop initially anticipated. Lowe’s is lapping a year-ago period when the company lowered its outlook and sales tumbled nearly 13% year over year. In August, it predicted weak home improvement demand in the second half of the year due to high interest rates.
Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period that ended Nov.
Lowe’s beats Q3 expectations
1 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $2.89 adjusted vs.
$2.82 expected
Revenue: $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, compared with $1.77 billion, or $3.06 per share in the same period last year. Revenue dropped from $20.47 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Home Depot, Lowe’s competitor, reported last week that customers continue to defer major projects even after two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Home Depot beat Wall Street’s sales and earnings expectations but posted its eighth consecutive quarter of declining comparable sales. It did see some improving sales trends due to hurricane-related demand and warm-weather home projects.
As of Monday’s close, shares of Lowe’s have risen about 22% this year, slightly trailing the approximately 24% gains of the S&P 500 during the same period. The company’s stock closed on Monday at $271.77, bringing the market value of Lowe’s to $154.17 billion. This is breaking news.
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