Lowe's Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines
Lowe's (NYS: LOW) reported earnings on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Feb. 1 (Q4), Lowe's beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped. GAAP earnings per share expanded.
Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.
Revenue details
Lowe's reported revenue of $11.05 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $10.83 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $11.63 billion.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
EPS details
EPS came in at $0.26. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.23 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q4 were 4.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.25 per share.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 34.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.1%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.6%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $13.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.52.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $51.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.08.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,141 members out of 2,433 rating the stock outperform, and 292 members rating it underperform. Among 722 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 671 give Lowe's a green thumbs-up, and 51 give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lowe's is hold, with an average price target of $36.78.
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The article Lowe's Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.
Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends American International Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of American International Group and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $25 Calls on American International Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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