A shopper visits a Lowe’s hardware store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2020.
Mark Makela | Reuters
Lowe’s on Wednesday reported quarterly same-store sales growth of more than 30%, including a doubling of online sales, as the coronavirus pandemic pushed more people to its stores and website to invest in their homes.
But Lowe’s earnings and forecast came up slightly short of estimates, weighed down by higher labor costs and investments in its e-commerce business.
Its shares were falling around 6% in premarket trading.
Here’s how the home improvement company did during its fiscal third quarter compared with what analysts were expecting, based on Refinitiv data:
- Earnings per share: $1.98, adjusted, vs. $1.99 expected
- Revenue: $22.31 billion vs. $21.25 billion expected
For the quarter ended Oct. 30, Lowe’s net income fell to $692 million, or 91 cents a share, from $1.05 billion, or $1.36 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a $1.1 billion pretax loss on extinguishment of debt, the company earned $1.98 per share, a penny short of analysts’ estimates, based on Refinitiv data.
Sales rose to $22.31 billion from $17.39 billion a year earlier, beating expectations for $21.25 billion.
Same-store sales, which track sales online and at Lowe’s stores open for at least 12 months, surged 30.1%, topping estimates for 22.8% growth.
Lowe’s said it expects to earn between $1.10 and $1.20 per share during its fiscal fourth quarter, while analysts had been calling for earnings of $1.17 a share.
The results from Lowe’s come one day after its larger rival Home Depot reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates, as consumers continued to focus on home improvement during the coronavirus pandemic and sales surged 24% from a year ago.
As of Tuesday’s market close, Lowe’s shares are up roughly 33% this year. The company has a market cap of $120.8 billion.
Find the full earnings press release from Lowe’s here.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
