Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The home improvement retailer said that it had $0.94 in earnings per share (EPS) and $16.0 billion in revenue, which compares with consensus estimates that called for $0.91 in EPS and $16.15 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, Lowe’s said it had EPS of $0.80 on $15.65 billion in revenue.

During the latest quarter, comparable sales increased 2.5% year over year. Comparable sales specifically for the U.S. home improvement business increased by 2.6%.

At the end of the fiscal 2019 full year, Lowe’s operated 1,977 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States and Canada

Looking ahead to the 2020 fiscal full year, Lowe’s expects to see EPS in the range of $6.45 to $6.65 and total sales are expected to increase 2.5% to 3.0%. The consensus estimates are calling for $6.67 in EPS and $74.39 billion in revenue for the year.

Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe’s president and CEO, commented:

In the fourth quarter, we delivered profitability that exceeded our expectations given strong expense management, improving gross margin and enhanced process execution.  Our sales growth was driven almost entirely by our U.S. brick and mortar stores, supported by our investments in technology, store environment and the Pro business. We have a detailed road map in place to modernize our e-commerce platform and accelerate Lowes.com sales, which combined with the sales productivity improvement in our physical stores, underscores our opportunity to unlock additional growth.

Lowe’s stock closed Tuesday at $118.52, in a 52-week range of $91.60 to $126.73. The consensus price target is $135.15. Following the announcement, the share price was up 1% at $120.25 in early trading indications Wednesday.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.