Ugliness At Lowe's (LOW)

Shares of Lowe’s (LOW) are off 4% before the open, and no wonder.

The company reported net earnings of $643 million for the quarter ended November 2, 2007, a 10.2 percent decline over the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share declined 6.5 percent to $0.43 from $0.46 in the third quarter of 2006. Sales for the quarter increased 3.2 percent to $11.6 billion, up from $11.2 billion in the third quarter of 2006

As the CEO said "Our sales for the quarter fell short of our expectations."

The company said comparable store sales would be off 3% to 5% in the next quarter.

There was simply no light at the end of the tunnel

Douglas A. McIntyre