A Lowe’s store stands in Brooklyn on February 27, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Lowe’s topped Wall Street’s quarterly earnings and revenue expectations on Wednesday and said its sales could see modest growth in the year ahead.
The company said it expects full-year total sales sales to range from $83.5 billion to $84.5 billion, which on the upper end would be higher than its total revenue of $83.67 billion for fiscal 2024. It said it expects comparable sales to be flat to up 1% year over year and earnings per share to range from approximately $12.15 to $12.40.
Here’s what the company reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.93 adjusted vs. $1.84 expected
- Revenue: $18.55 billion vs. $18.29 billion expected
In the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, Lowe’s net income was $1.13 billion, or $1.99 per share, compared with $1.02 billion, or $1.77 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell from $18.60 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Investors are looking for signs that the home improvement market will pick up again. Slower housing turnover and higher borrowing costs have kept some customers on the sidelines. Lowe’s net sales for the 2024 fiscal year totaled $83.67 billion, down 3% from the fiscal year prior.
Lowe’s competitor Home Depot narrowly beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates on Tuesday and snapped an eight consecutive quarter losing streak with comparable sales. Yet Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail said the company doesn’t expect the housing market or mortgage rates to change. Instead, he told CNBC that he thinks consumers will gradually get used to elevated rates as “a new normal.”
Shares of Lowe’s closed on Tuesday at $242.39. As of Tuesday’s close, shares of the company have fallen nearly 2% this year. That trails behind the approximately 2% gains of the S&P 500 during the same period.
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