Lowe’s Posts Strong Q4 Results on Strong Housing Market
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NEW YORK — Lowe’s Cos., the nation’s second-largest home improvement chain behind Home Depot, offered an upbeat annual outlook after reporting strong fiscal fourth-quarter results that showed a still sizzling housing market.
The report, released Feb. 23, follows a robust quarterly report from Home Depot.
Home improvement stores have been busy during the pandemic as people working from home took on new projects. Many also moved into new homes with more space for a home office. A high inventory of aging homes has also helped to propel homeowners to fix up their houses.
Today we’re thrilled to announce we’re awarding an incremental discretionary bonus of $265 million to our front-line associates in recognition of their hard work throughout the pandemic in 2021.
Learn more about this announcement here. https://t.co/kwvCRQmw9b — Lowe's (@Lowes) February 23, 2022
Sales of previously occupied homes rose in January as a surge in buyers with cash and others eager to avoid higher mortgage rates snapped up properties, leaving the number of available houses on the market at a record low.
Existing home sales rose 6.7% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million, the National Association of Realtors said Feb. 18. That’s more than the roughly 6.08 million sales that economists had been expecting, according to FactSet.
Lowe’s, based in Mooresville, N.C., said that it earned $1.21 billion, or $1.78 per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 28. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.72 per share.
The home improvement retailer posted revenue of $21.34 billion in the period, also surpassing forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $20.82 billion.
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Sales at its established stores rose 5.1%. Sales from “Pro” customers, which encompass contractors and specialty tradesmen, increased 23%.
Lowe’s now expects full-year earnings to be $13.10 to $13.60 per share, with revenue in the range of $97 billion to $99 billion.
Analysts are expecting earnings per share of $12.93 on sales of $97.26 billion for the current year, according to FactSet.
Shares rose more than 3%, or $7.66, to $222.25 in premarket trading.
— Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.
