Lowe's Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations with Positive 2026 Outlook
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 hours ago
0mins
Should l Buy LOW?
Source: seekingalpha
- Strong Earnings Report: Lowe's reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $1.98, beating expectations by $0.04, indicating a robust profitability trend that underscores its resilience in the competitive home improvement retail sector.
- Revenue Growth: The company achieved Q4 revenue of $20.58 billion, a 10.9% year-over-year increase that surpassed market expectations by $240 million, highlighting continued growth in professional, online, and home services sales, particularly during the holiday season.
- 2026 Outlook: Lowe's projects total sales for 2026 to be between $92.0 billion and $94.0 billion, reflecting a 7% to 9% increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating confidence in future market conditions, although comparable sales are expected to be flat to up 2%.
- Profitability Metrics: The expected operating margin for 2026 is between 11.2% and 11.4%, with an adjusted operating margin of 11.6% to 11.8%, alongside an anticipated net interest expense of approximately $1.6 billion, indicating the company's focus on cost control and profitability enhancement.
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Analyst Views on LOW
Wall Street analysts forecast LOW stock price to rise
22 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
6 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 274.360
Low
250.00
Averages
278.27
High
316.00
Current: 274.360
Low
250.00
Averages
278.27
High
316.00
About LOW
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a home improvement company. The Company offers a complete line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It offers home improvement products in various categories, including appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lumber, lawn and garden, kitchens and bath, hardware, building materials, millwork, paint, rough plumbing, tools, electrical, flooring, and decor. It is focused on offering a wide selection of national brand-name merchandise complemented by its selection of private brands. Its services include installed sales and Lowe's Protection Plans and Repair Services. The Company offers installation services through independent contractors in many of its product categories. It offers extended protection plans for certain products within the appliances, kitchens and bath, decor, millwork, rough plumbing, electrical, seasonal and outdoor living, tools, and hardware categories. It operates over 1,700 home improvement stores.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Earnings Announcement: Lowe's is set to announce its Q4 earnings on February 25, with Wall Street expecting an EPS of $1.94, reflecting a 0.5% year-over-year increase, and revenues of $20.34 billion, a 9.6% year-over-year rise, indicating robust performance in the market.
- Sales Guidance Increase: The company raised its FY25 sales guidance to $86 billion, surpassing market expectations, which reflects confidence in professional demand compensating for slowing DIY sales, showcasing its adaptability to market changes.
- Stock Performance: Lowe's was the top-performing consumer discretionary stock in January 2026, with a 13.67% increase, and has risen 16% since the beginning of the year, indicating strong market recognition of its growth potential.
- Analyst Ratings: Despite experiencing 2 upward revisions and 9 downward revisions in EPS estimates over the past three months, Lowe's is still rated as a Buy by Wall Street analysts, while Seeking Alpha recommends a Hold, reflecting differing market perspectives on its future performance.
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- Lowe's Guidance Downgrade: Lowe's projects earnings per share between $12.25 and $12.75 through January 2027, below the $12.90 consensus, causing a 3% stock decline, despite beating adjusted earnings and revenue in Q4, indicating resilience amid housing market pressures.
- First Solar Weak Earnings: First Solar reported Q4 earnings of $4.84 per share, missing the $5.15 estimate, resulting in a 17% stock drop, while full-year revenue guidance of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion significantly lags the $6.12 billion expectation, raising market concerns about future growth.
- Cava Group Strong Performance: Cava Group achieved Q4 earnings of 4 cents per share on $275 million revenue, exceeding analyst expectations, leading to an 11% stock increase, and marking its first year of over $1 billion in revenue, with projected same-store sales growth of 3% to 5% in 2026, showcasing market expansion potential.
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- Earnings Beat: Lowe's reported a quarterly sales increase of over 10% year-over-year, reaching $20.58 billion, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of $20.34 billion, indicating strong market performance.
- Full-Year Sales Outlook: The company expects total sales for the current fiscal year to range between $92 billion and $94 billion, reflecting a 7% to 9% increase over the previous year, despite challenges from high mortgage rates and slowing real estate sales.
- Profitability Analysis: Lowe's adjusted earnings per share are projected to be between $12.25 and $12.75, falling short of analysts' consensus of $12.95, which led to a decline in premarket trading, reflecting market caution regarding earnings expectations.
- Competitive Landscape: While Lowe's comparable sales rose 1.3%, exceeding the expected 0.2%, the overall industry demand remains weak, as competitor Home Depot also maintains conservative full-year guidance, highlighting market uncertainties.
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- Sales Growth: Lowe's reported net sales of $20.6 billion for Q4 2026, reflecting a 10.9% increase year-over-year, demonstrating strong performance in the home improvement market, particularly in Pro, online, and home services sales.
- Earnings Performance: The company reported diluted EPS of $1.78, with an adjusted EPS of $1.98, marking a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year, indicating robust profitability despite the acquisitions of Foundation Building Materials and Artisan Design Group.
- Shareholder Returns: Lowe's paid $673 million in dividends this quarter and returned $2.6 billion to shareholders for the fiscal year, showcasing the company's disciplined capital allocation and commitment to shareholder value.
- Future Outlook: Despite pressures in the housing market, Lowe's remains optimistic about fiscal 2026, planning to continue enhancing productivity and increasing market share, with strategic investments aimed at navigating uncertainties.
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- Earnings Beat: Lowe's reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.98, exceeding the expected $1.94, with quarterly revenue of $20.58 billion surpassing the $20.34 billion forecast, indicating strong performance in a competitive home improvement market.
- Full-Year Sales Outlook: The company anticipates total sales for the current fiscal year to range between $92 billion and $94 billion, reflecting a projected 7% to 9% increase over the previous year, showcasing Lowe's robust market position and growth potential.
- Net Income Decline: Despite a drop in net income from $1.13 billion last year to $999 million this quarter, with earnings per share decreasing from $1.99 to $1.78, the year-over-year revenue growth indicates the company's ability to maintain profitability amid challenges.
- Strong Market Performance: As of Tuesday's close, Lowe's shares have risen nearly 16% year-to-date, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's approximately 1% gain, reflecting investor confidence in the company's future growth despite a generally tepid home improvement market.
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- Strong Earnings Report: Lowe's reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $1.98, beating expectations by $0.04, indicating a robust profitability trend that underscores its resilience in the competitive home improvement retail sector.
- Revenue Growth: The company achieved Q4 revenue of $20.58 billion, a 10.9% year-over-year increase that surpassed market expectations by $240 million, highlighting continued growth in professional, online, and home services sales, particularly during the holiday season.
- 2026 Outlook: Lowe's projects total sales for 2026 to be between $92.0 billion and $94.0 billion, reflecting a 7% to 9% increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating confidence in future market conditions, although comparable sales are expected to be flat to up 2%.
- Profitability Metrics: The expected operating margin for 2026 is between 11.2% and 11.4%, with an adjusted operating margin of 11.6% to 11.8%, alongside an anticipated net interest expense of approximately $1.6 billion, indicating the company's focus on cost control and profitability enhancement.
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