Lowe's struggles reflect a difficult housing market in the U.S. However, its upcoming second-quarter results could give the shares a much-needed boost.

Consensus calls for Lowe's to earn $4.22 a share, a decline from the year-ago period, on revenue of $26.1 billion.

Expectations for the home improvement industry are low overall, as both Home Depot and Lowe's have seen their shares decline over the past year. Lowe's is down nearly 11% since the start of 2026.

Although the housing market is slowly improving and lawmakers are trying to address the affordability crisis, the recovery is uneven, while high prices mean that new homeowners may not be able to make all the changes they'd like.

Nonetheless, there are a few factors that could help Lowe's specifically. The shares have underperformed Home Depot since the companies' first-quarter reports, but data from Placer.ai show that Lowe's visits were slightly better than those of its main rival during the second quarter. The bar is also low for the industry in general, and Lowe's stock is cheaper than Home Depot's.

Seventy percent of analysts tracked by FactSet have a Buy rating or the equivalent on the shares, with an average price target more than 20% above where Lowe's currently trades.