Lowe’s and Home Depot Numbers Offer Encouragement

The two big DIY doppelgangers each reported better financial results for their recent quarters and that’s good news.

The home improvement and remodeling business is not exactly out of the woods yet but signs continue to emerge that the long-anticipated bottoming-out has occurred and the upswing is starting. Both Depot and Lowe’s showed small gains in comp store revenues for their quarters and while analysts and investors might have been hoping for more, those who view the retail giants as leading-edge indicators have to be encouraged by the results.

Home Depot showed the stronger performance of the two for the period. Sales for its fourth quarter were up 14.1 percent, reflecting recent acquisitions. Comp store revenues increased 0.8 percent, its first gain in eight quarters, while U.S comparable sales gained 1.3 percent. Net earnings were also up for the quarter.

“Our fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations as we saw greater engagement in home improvement spending, despite ongoing pressure on large remodeling projects,” said Depot CEO Ted Decker. “Throughout the year, we remained steadfast in our investments across our strategic initiatives to position ourselves for continued success, despite uncertain macroeconomic conditions and a higher interest rate environment that impacted home improvement demand.” 

Lowe’s sales for the quarter were up 0.2 percent for its comp stores, also its first gain in the measure in the past eight quarters. The company attributed the gains to improvement in its pro-business and online sales, as well as holiday business. It also noted some gains related to the hurricanes that hit its southeastern core stores during the fall of last year.

Even though earnings for the fourth quarter were up 10.3 percent, total sales dipped slightly for both the period and the full year. Full year earnings also declined, reflecting the softness in the building sector during the first nine months of the year.

Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said the company continues to deal with “a challenging home improvement market,” but he said, “Our results this quarter were once again better-than-expected. We remain confident in the long-term strength of the home improvement industry, and we are equally confident in our strategy to capitalize on the expected recovery.”

Lowe’s is forecasting sales for 2025 to be in the flat to plus 1 percent range, while Depot was more optimistic with sales projected to be up 2.8 percent

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