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Shoppers load a box of merchandise into a truck after visiting a Lowe’s hardware store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mark Makela/File Photo
Nov 17 (Reuters) – Lowe’s Cos Inc (LOW.N) raised its full-year sales forecast on Wednesday, as home improvement chains get a boost from resurgent demand for tools and building materials in a strengthening in the U.S. housing market.
High-spending professional contractors have been splurging on tools and building materials at Lowe’s and larger rival Home Depot Inc (HD.N) over the last few months on the back of a rush to complete a backlog of home repair and upgrade jobs that were put off during the pandemic.
Rising home prices in the United States has also given people confidence to invest in upgrade jobs for their homes.
Lowe’s said it now expects fiscal year 2021 total sales of about $95 billion, compared to a previous forecast of about $92 billion.
The company’s shares rose 1% in premarket trading.
Same-store sales rose 2.2% in the third quarter ended Oct. 29, compared to analysts’ estimates of a 2.9% drop, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Lowe’s said its sales momentum was continuing into November, signaling a strong start to the holiday shopping season.
Home Depot, which has a much larger base of so-called “pro customers”, reported a 6.1% rise in same-store sales on Tuesday. read more
Lowe’s net earnings rose to about $1.9 billion, or $2.73 per share, in the quarter, from $692 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of $2.36 per share.
Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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