MW Lowe's beat Wall Street's profit expectations, to one-up rival Home Depot
By Steve Gelsi
Home improvement retailer beats earnings and same-store sales mark, a day after larger rival Home Depot fell short
Lowe's Cos.' stock was climbing in early trading Wednesday, after the home improvement retailer turned in a stronger performance against Wall Street analyst expectations than its larger rival Home Depot Inc.
Lowe's $(LOW)$ said it faces housing-market headwinds and near-term economic uncertainty, but kept its 2025 earnings projections in place.
The stock rose 1.9% in premarket trading, to put it on track to open at a 21/2-month high.
Comparable sales decreased 1.7% as unfavorable weather earlier in the quarter was partially offset by growth in online comparable sales and its professional products business, the company said. But that was better than the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet for a decline of 2.1%.
Lowe's reported a first-quarter profit that fell to $2.92 a share from $3.06 a share, but topped the FactSet consensus estimate of $2.89 a share.
First-quarter revenue fell to $20.93 billion from $21.4 billion, and matched the analyst projection of $20.93 billion.
On Tuesday, Home Depot $(HD)$ had missed Wall Street's profit estimate - the first miss in five years - while falling short on global same-store sales, although it came in ahead of analysts' revenue estimates and narrowly beat the U.S. same-store sales projections.
The retailer's gross profit margin rose to 33.4% of sales from 33.2% in the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, Home Depot's gross profit margins slipped to 33.8% from 34.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Also read: Why Home Depot's approach to prices and tariffs will 'likely play better' to Trump administration
Looking ahead, Lowe's said it continues to expect full-year 2025 earnings of $12.15 a share to $12.40 a share, while analysts are looking for earnings of $12.21 a share.
As of Tuesday's close, Lowe's stock has dropped 6.3% in 2025, while Home Depot shares have lost 3.1% and the S&P 500 index SPX has gained 1%.
-Steve Gelsi
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May 21, 2025 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)
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