Lowe's topped Wall Street's quarterly revenue and earnings expectations and posted more than 10% sales growth year over year on Wednesday even as the home improvement market's struggles showed few signs of ending.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Marvin Ellison said the home improvement retailer is "still dealing with a housing market that does not have a lot of tailwind." A mix of higher inflation, economic uncertainty and elevated mortgage rates have created a "lock-in effect" for U.S. consumers who are staying put instead of buying and selling homes, he said.
"For us, the greatest fuel for the home improvement industry is when you decide to put your house on the market," he said. "Because the first thing you do when you put it on the market is you fix up your yard, you repair your fence, you paint your walls, you do simple beautification modifications in your home."
As the waiting game for stronger home improvement demand continues, he said Lowe's strategy is resonating with do-it-yourself customers and home professionals. He credited some company-specific changes, such as better digital experiences, flexible delivery options and more installation services.
He said Lowe's anticipates roughly flat demand for the home improvement industry this year. Its own full-year sales forecast is based on expectations that it will outperform the market, he said.
Lowe's said it expects total sales for the full current fiscal year to range between $92 billion and $94 billion, which would be a roughly 7% to 9% increase over the prior year. It said it projects adjusted earnings per share to be between $12.25 and $12.75 for the full year. Lowe's said it expects comparable sales, a metric that takes out one-time factors, to be approximately flat to up 2%.
Shares of Lowe's fell more than 4% in early trading on Wednesday as the company's earnings per share projections for the year came in short of analysts' consensus expectations of $12.95, according to LSEG.
Ellison told CNBC the company's outlook is "appropriately conservative" because of the "very fluid and very unpredictable environment" it faces due to slower home sales and changing tariff rates.
Here's what Lowe's reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with Wall Street's estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $1.98 adjusted vs. $1.94 expected
$1.98 adjusted vs. $1.94 expected Revenue: $20.58 billion vs. $20.34 billion expected
Lowe's net income for the three-month period that ended Jan. 30 dropped to $999 million, or $1.78 per share, from $1.13 billion, or $1.99 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time factors, including expenses associated with recent acquisitions, Lowe's reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.98.
Revenue rose from $18.55 billion in the year-ago period.
Comparable sales for the quarter climbed 1.3%, higher than the 0.2% that analysts were expecting, according to StreetAccount. The company said in a news release that growth was driven by its gains with home professionals, online sales and home services, along with a strong holiday season.
Lowe's posted growth in nine of its 14 merchandising categories, said Bill Boltz, executive vice president of merchandising, on the company's earnings call. Some of the categories and items that sold well are more closely tied to pros, such as sales of plumbing supplies like water heaters and millwork for windows and doors, Boltz said. Yet the company also saw strength with paint sales, as customers bought interior and exterior paint, primer and stains, he said.
— Source: CNBC Business (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/lowes-low-q4-2025-earnings.html)
