Lowe’s earnings beat estimates as recovery takes shape

Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) published Q2 results that were better than what analysts were expecting, pushing its stock sharply higher in the pre-market. Total sales dropped slightly to $26 billion while its net earnings came in at $2.7 billion.

Lowe’s comparable sales, an important metric, dropped by 1.6%, better than the expected decline of 2.4%. The company’s results were helped by strong spring recovery and pro and online sales and offset by lumber deflation. 

The company expects that its sales for 2023 will be between $87 billion and $89 billion, with comparable sales falling by between 2% and 4%. Interest expense are expected to be up by $1.5 billion as interest rate rises Lowe’s will spend up to $2 billion in capital expenditure. In a statement, the CEO said:

“Our investments in our Total Home strategy continued to drive growth across Pro and online this quarter. And we are excited by our recent launch of same-day delivery nationwide and the expansion of our rural merchandising framework to roughly 300 stores.”

LOW stock jumped by more than 2% in the pre-market after slipping by over 0.80% on Monday. In all, the shares have pulled back by over 5% from the year-to-date high. Like Home Depot, Lowe’s stock has soared by ~35% from the lowest level in 2022.

The two companies boomed during the pandemic as most people spent most of their times at home. They also had excess savings as traveling halted and as the government gave them free stimulus cash.

Recently, however, Lowe’s and Home Depot have suffered as interest rates jumped to the highest level in more than 20 years.