Lowe’s (LOW-US) reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday that missed Wall Street’s sales expectations as cool spring weather hurt supply demand for outdoor self-catering projects.
Shares were flat in premarket trading on Wednesday.
The company reiterated its full-year guidance, expecting total sales to be between $97 billion and $99 billion, with same-store sales falling between 1% and growing 1%.
The company compared to Wall Street expectations for the quarter ended April 29 as follows, according to a Refinitiv poll of analysts:
● Earnings per share of $3.51, above expectations of $3.22 ● Revenue of $23.66 billion, below expectations of $23.76 billion
Lowe’s results differed from those from rival Home Depot (HD-US), which reported last-quarter profit and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, attributing its growth to home upgrades And the boom in home improvement.
Lowe’s, however, is a different business. Historically, it has had 75% to 80% of its sales come from DIY customers, compared to about half at Home Depot. If a homeowner decides not to do a painting or landscaping project for a while , making Lowe’s more vulnerable to changes in demand.
Lowe’s net profit edged up to $2.33 billion, or $3.51 a share, from $2.32 billion, or $3.21 a share, a year earlier; the result beat analysts’ expectations of $3.22 in a Refinitiv survey.
Net sales fell to $23.66 billion from $24.42 billion last year, beating analysts’ expectations of $23.76 billion.
Same-store sales fell 4% from a year earlier.
Shares of Lowe’s had fallen about 25 percent this year as of Tuesday’s close. It closed at $194.03 on Tuesday, giving it a market value of $128.27 billion.
