Abstract
Lowe's Companies, Inc. will report fiscal second-quarter results on August 19, 2026 Pre-MKt, with consensus pointing to revenue of 26.22 billion US dollars (+9.42% year over year), adjusted EPS of 4.24 (-0.09% year over year), and EBIT of 3.54 billion (+1.73% year over year).Market Forecast
Consensus for the current quarter implies revenue of 26.22 billion US dollars, up 9.42% year over year, adjusted EPS of 4.24, down 0.09% year over year, and EBIT of 3.54 billion, up 1.73% year over year. Forecast detail for gross profit and net profit margins is not provided in the latest market estimates, so margin expectations are best inferred from last quarter’s baseline and the company’s operating commentary.The company’s revenue mix last quarter was concentrated in Home Decor (7.17 billion US dollars), Building Maintenance (6.81 billion US dollars), and Seasonal Products (6.79 billion US dollars), with the balance from Other segment net sales (1.75 billion US dollars) and Other (0.55 billion US dollars); into this quarter, merchandising and execution in these core categories remain the main levers for sustaining the top line. Seasonal Products, with 6.79 billion US dollars of sales last quarter, looks the most tactically positioned for the quarter now being reported; consensus anticipates overall company revenue growth of 9.42% year over year, setting a constructive backdrop for that category’s contribution.
Last Quarter Review
The preceding quarter delivered revenue of 23.08 billion US dollars (+10.26% year over year), a gross profit margin of 32.68%, GAAP net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.63 billion US dollars, a net profit margin of 7.05%, and adjusted EPS of 3.03 (+3.77% year over year).Operationally, EBIT reached 2.65 billion US dollars (+6.26% year over year), modestly exceeding consensus by 45.39 million, while adjusted EPS of 3.03 topped the 2.97 reference by approximately 0.06; management also kept its full-year framework intact following the print, reinforcing near-term execution confidence. In terms of business composition, Home Decor led with 7.17 billion US dollars, followed by Building Maintenance at 6.81 billion US dollars and Seasonal Products at 6.79 billion US dollars, as total company revenue advanced 10.26% year over year on a broad contribution from these core categories.
Current Quarter Outlook
Main business momentum and margin framework
The near-term setup centers on executing against a complex mix of project demand, category seasonality, and promotional intensity, with last quarter’s 32.68% gross margin serving as the anchor from which investors will gauge sequential movement. Within that framework, pricing discipline, inventory positioning, and targeted promotions across the largest revenue pools—Home Decor, Building Maintenance, and Seasonal Products—will be the primary determinants of merchandise margin outcomes. Any step-up in promotional cadence to stimulate transactions is likely to be weighed against vendor funding and mix management to protect gross profitability.A key watch item is whether the company can sustain healthy average ticket dynamics while broadening traffic through curated offers and loyalty engagement. The recently introduced entertainment-based benefits within the loyalty ecosystem add a new dimension to customer activation, and the effectiveness of these initiatives will be assessed through the lens of comparable sales and category-level throughput. Margin flow-through, meanwhile, will hinge on balancing price investments with cost discipline; controllable expenses and store productivity remain tools to support operating leverage even if mix tilts toward lower-ticket or higher-promo items.
On earnings translation, consensus expects adjusted EPS of 4.24 with EBIT of 3.54 billion US dollars. Delivery versus these benchmarks will likely come down to how effectively merchandising and marketing drive unit conversion in the core categories without eroding unit economics. Given last quarter’s measured beat on EBIT and the company’s decision to maintain its full-year framework, investors will look for a steady hand on costs and an orderly cadence of promotions that keeps traffic resilient while safeguarding margin structure.
Most promising business: Seasonal Products
Seasonal Products enters a period of elevated category interest and historically strong customer engagement, making it the most tactically significant swing factor in the quarter under review. With last quarter revenue of 6.79 billion US dollars, this category’s throughput can meaningfully influence both the top line and parts of the margin mix, given the breadth of outdoor and household activity concentrated in this timeframe. The sales cadence in Seasonal Products is sensitive to execution quality, inventory availability, and the appeal of differentiated offers that draw customers into projects they can complete quickly and confidently.From an operations standpoint, the company’s product safety and product-availability work is relevant to near-term performance. In July, a partner announced a recall remediation affecting certain battery packs tied to branded outdoor equipment that had been sold in the first half of the year; importantly, the partner reported that most updated products had already returned to the company’s stores by mid-July. This matters for the quarter now being reported because it reduces the likelihood of prolonged stockouts or customer hesitation within important outdoor subcategories and thereby helps stabilize assortment completeness for peak shopping windows.
The overall forecast backdrop—company revenue growth anticipated at 9.42% year over year—sets an achievable context for Seasonal Products to meet category plans if execution aligns with demand windows and updated product availability proceeds as expected. The read-through for profitability will revolve around how promotional mechanics are calibrated; compelling offers can move units briskly, but margin recapture depends on mix management and vendor funding. A clean in-stock position, combined with appealing project bundles and targeted marketing, should allow this category to support the consolidated revenue target while preserving key elements of gross margin.
What will drive the stock this quarter
First and most directly, headline comparisons versus consensus—revenue of 26.22 billion US dollars, adjusted EPS of 4.24, and EBIT of 3.54 billion—are likely to frame the initial share reaction. Investors will parse directional changes in gross margin relative to last quarter’s 32.68% baseline to judge the trade-off between promotional depth and merchandise margin integrity. The net profit margin’s last reported level of 7.05% offers another point of reference for evaluating bottom-line conversion from any top-line upside.Second, color on category performance and demand composition will be influential. Given the concentration of sales in Home Decor, Building Maintenance, and Seasonal Products, the update on ticket mix, transactions, and attachment rates will help investors understand the durability of revenue growth as the company navigates the remainder of its fiscal year. Seasonal Products will be scrutinized for both sell-through velocity and any commentary on availability following the partner’s recall update; smooth category execution would support the overall revenue narrative for the quarter.
Third, full-year guidance communication and capital allocation updates can shape the medium-term valuation framework. The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to 1.25 per share and has historically used buybacks to return capital, so any reiteration of capital return intentions alongside operational momentum could bolster confidence in earnings quality. Conversely, if management signals that promotional intensity must stay elevated for longer to drive units, investors will assess the implications for gross margin trajectory and EBIT flow-through versus the current 3.54 billion US dollars consensus for the quarter.
Fourth, commentary on operational initiatives—assortment curation, loyalty engagement, and fulfillment efficacy—will influence expectations for the next two quarters. The ramp of loyalty benefits and marketing partnerships is designed to deepen customer engagement; tangible evidence that these programs are driving incremental trips and conversion without undue pressure on costs would be a constructive signal. Store productivity and cost control updates will also matter as investors calibrate the path for operating leverage under different growth scenarios.
Finally, any updates on shrink mitigation, inventory health, and vendor collaboration can swing sentiment at the margin. Clean inventory improves the quality of sales and reduces markdown exposure, while vendor programs can offset promotional costs and protect merchandise margin. Read-across to the mix of professional and do-it-yourself customers will be watched as well, because the balance between project types often informs the price/mix outlook even when total transactions are stable.
Analyst Opinions
Among recently published views collected over the last six months, bullish opinions outnumber cautious takes by a wide margin, with positive or overweight ratings from multiple institutions outweighing a smaller set of cautious preview notes. Well-known voices on the positive side include Truist Financial’s Scot Ciccarelli, who maintained a Buy rating with a 255 US dollars price target; KeyBanc’s Bradley Thomas, who reiterated a Buy and set a 300 US dollars price target; Wells Fargo’s Zachary Fadem, who maintained a Buy with a 290 US dollars price target; Piper Sandler’s Peter Keith, who kept a Buy with a 294 US dollars price target; and Citi, which upgraded the shares to Buy with a 285 US dollars target. JPMorgan also maintained an Overweight rating while revising its price target to 252 US dollars. By contrast, more cautious preview commentary has highlighted tempered expectations for do-it-yourself activity and the potential for a relatively stronger setup at a peer; however, these do not represent rating downgrades for the company and remain in the minority relative to the breadth of Buy and Overweight stances.The core argument from the bullish cohort is that execution around merchandising, inventory, and customer activation can sustain healthy revenue and earnings delivery against consensus, even as marketing and promotions are used selectively to engage customers. Their price targets cluster in the mid- to high-200s, signaling confidence in margin stewardship and cash generation that supports capital returns. This view is reinforced by the company’s ability to modestly exceed EBIT expectations last quarter while holding to its full-year framework, which, in the eyes of supportive analysts, indicates credible control over costs and the flexibility to modulate promotions without structurally impairing profitability.
Several of these analysts also underscore that near-term category seasonality and programmatic customer engagement create a straightforward path to achieving consensus revenue of 26.22 billion US dollars and adjusted EPS of 4.24 in the quarter being reported. In their work, the biggest swing factors—gross margin versus last quarter’s 32.68% level, transaction trends in cornerstone categories, and the cadence of promotions—are manageable within the company’s current playbook. They expect that the combination of targeted promotions, loyalty-led activation, and disciplined expense management can protect EBIT flow-through close to the 3.54 billion US dollars mark in consensus, with upside depending on the strength of category sell-through and the extent of vendor-supported offers.
The positive camp also notes recent actions that align with shareholder value priorities. The dividend increase to 1.25 per share and the company’s history of buybacks are cited as consistent with a strong balance of growth and returns. In earnings reactions, analysts anticipate that clarity on inventory health, category availability—especially where updated products have already returned to stores—and confirmation of a steady promotional cadence could validate the revenue trajectory implied by consensus (+9.42% year over year). They further argue that steady full-year messaging would mitigate concerns about earnings variability, allowing the market to focus on underlying cash generation rather than quarter-to-quarter noise.
In aggregate, the bullish-to-cautious mix remains tilted toward the former, with Buy or Overweight recommendations from Truist Financial, KeyBanc, Wells Fargo, Piper Sandler, Citi, and JPMorgan outweighing the smaller set of cautious preview notes. The shared thesis is that the company is positioned to meet or slightly exceed the quarter’s revenue and profitability benchmarks through merchandising discipline, loyalty activation, and careful cost management, and that the fundamental case is supported by consistent capital return. With that as the prevailing narrative, the majority view anticipates a results day dominated by the interplay between revenue attainment, gross margin resiliency versus the 32.68% reference point, and any guidance color that aligns the remainder of the fiscal year with the pace implied by current-quarter consensus.