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Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW)

Consumer Cyclical Out of favour

Lowe's is a massive American home improvement retailer that supplies everything from power tools to paint for DIY enthusiasts and professional builders.

$207.81

Is Lowe's Companies, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Lowe's is a massive American home improvement retailer that supplies everything from power tools to paint for DIY enthusiasts and professional builders.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-13.9%
Priced in USD - as a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, on top of the share price itself.
52-week range-4% past year
$207.81
Low $199.40High $293.06
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put $1,000 into Lowe's Companies, Inc.
$861-14%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$116.58B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
3.09M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$206.02 – $210.09
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$199.40 – $293.06
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
17.8
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
2.4%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.85
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.85
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +3% past week · ▼ -4% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Successful expansion of digital sales and professional services.

The bear case

Increased competition from online retailers and smaller hardware chains.

What does Lowe's Companies, Inc. do?

Lowe's operates a vast network of stores across North America, helping homeowners renovate and maintain their properties. The tills ring up building materials, appliances, and garden supplies, while professional contractors are served alongside DIY shoppers. Watch the housing market closely, because people are far more likely to splash out on big home projects when they feel confident about what their property is worth.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on momentum.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 72Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 31Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 40Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 19Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 61
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Value screens high (72/100)
  • Strong brand recognition in the home improvement space
  • Consistent history of paying dividends to shareholders
  • Balanced customer base of both DIYers and professional contractors
What to watch
  • Quality screens low (31/100)
  • Momentum screens low (19/100)
  • Economic downturns often lead to reduced spending on home renovations
  • Rising costs for raw materials could squeeze profit margins
  • Changes in interest rates can make home financing more expensive, slowing down projects

What do Lowe's Companies, Inc.'s numbers mean?

P/E
17.6
This shows how much you are paying for every pound of the company's annual profit; a lower number can sometimes suggest a company is priced more modestly.
Gross margin
33.3%
This represents the percentage of sales left over after paying for the cost of the goods sold, showing how efficiently they manage their inventory costs.
Dividend yield
2.4%
This is the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, acting as a regular 'thank you' for holding the stock.
Beta
0.8
This measures how much the share price tends to wiggle compared to the wider market; a number below 1 suggests it is generally less jumpy than the average stock.

How much money does Lowe's Companies, Inc. make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$5.99B$11.98B$17.97B$23.96BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
33.3%
Net margin
7.5%

Does Lowe's Companies, Inc. pay a dividend?

Yes - Lowe's Companies, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 2.4% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

When does Lowe's Companies, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?

Lowe's Companies, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-08-19 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.

Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.

ReportedExpected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number.Actual EPSvs expected
2026-05-20$2.97$3.03Beat +2%
2026-02-25$1.94$1.98Beat +2%
2025-11-19$2.95$3.06Beat +4%
2025-08-20$4.24$4.33Beat +2%
2025-05-21$2.88$2.92Beat +1%
2025-02-26$1.84$1.93Beat +5%

Across the last 6 quarters here, Lowe's Companies, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 6 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.

See who else reports over the next two weeks →

Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.

More in Consumer Cyclical

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What are the scenarios for Lowe's Companies, Inc.?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

$289$208$179today · $208▲ Bull · $223• Base · $208▼ Bear · $192in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%A sudden surge in seasonal home improvement projects.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady demand as homeowners continue minor repairs.
Bear
-5% to -10%A sharp decline in consumer spending on non-essential home upgrades.

What are the pros and cons of Lowe's Companies, Inc.?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Strong brand recognition in the home improvement space
  • Consistent history of paying dividends to shareholders
  • Balanced customer base of both DIYers and professional contractors
The catch3
  • Earnings growth has been slightly negative recently
  • Highly sensitive to the health of the broader housing market
  • Significant competition from other large retail giants
Key risks3
  • Economic downturns often lead to reduced spending on home renovations
  • Rising costs for raw materials could squeeze profit margins
  • Changes in interest rates can make home financing more expensive, slowing down projects
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: roe · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.