Lowe's (LOW)
Consumer Discretionary · $109B market cap · SEC CIK 0000060667
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Nov 18, 2026, before the open, with analysts expecting $2.91 in earnings per share.
The case for LOW
- Free cash flow of 7.0% of its market value a year: a lot of cash for the price.
- Revenue growing 8.2% year over year.
- Earns 12% a year on everything it owns (return on assets).
- Reasonably priced at 16.4× earnings.
- Pays a modest 2.2% dividend.
The case against
- Down 28.0% over the past year.
- Revenue has shrunk 0.8% a year over five years.
- Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is -$9.9B, usually the result of buybacks funded with debt. ROE and price-to-book mean little here.
- Near the bottom of its 52-week range, 33% below the high. Falling prices usually have a reason; find it first.
- Long-term debt of $39.8B against $982M of cash.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Discretionary companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 80 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 20 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 49 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 16 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 45 |
- Shareholder equity is negative, so return on equity, price-to-book and debt-to-equity are left out.
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 48 Consumer Discretionary companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 16.4× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | n/m (negative equity) |
| Price / sales | 1.2× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +8.2% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -2.7% |
| Gross margin | 33% |
| Operating margin | 11% |
| Net margin | 7% |
| Return on assets | 12.2% (ROE not meaningful: negative equity) |
| Debt / equity | n/m (negative equity) |
| Current ratio | 1.10 |
| Dividend yield | 2.21% |
| Beta | 0.82 |
| 52-week range | $188.22 – $293.06 |
| Position in that range | 7% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -14.1% |
| 1-year return | -28.0% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Lowe's's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $86.3B | $83.7B | $86.4B | $97.1B | $96.3B |
| Gross profit | $28.9B | $27.9B | $28.8B | $32.3B | $32.1B |
| Operating income | $10.2B | $10.5B | $11.6B | $10.2B | $12.1B |
| Net income | $6.7B | $7.0B | $7.7B | $6.4B | $8.4B |
| Operating cash flow | $9.9B | $9.6B | $8.1B | $8.6B | $10.1B |
| Capital expenditure | $2.2B | $1.9B | $2.0B | $1.8B | $1.9B |
| Total assets | $54.1B | $43.1B | $41.8B | $43.7B | $44.6B |
| Total liabilities | $64.1B | $57.3B | $56.8B | $58.0B | $49.5B |
| Shareholder equity | -$9.9B | -$14.2B | -$15.1B | -$14.3B | -$4.8B |
| Cash | $982M | $1.8B | $921M | $1.3B | $1.1B |
| Long-term debt | $39.8B | $35.3B | $35.8B | $33.3B | $24.3B |
| Free cash flow | $7.7B | $7.7B | $6.2B | $6.8B | $8.3B |
| Gross margin | 33.5% | 33.3% | 33.4% | 33.2% | 33.3% |
| Operating margin | 11.8% | 12.5% | 13.4% | 10.5% | 12.6% |
| Net margin | 7.7% | 8.3% | 8.9% | 6.6% | 8.8% |
| Diluted shares | 560M | 568M | 584M | 631M | 699M |
Share count is down 19.9% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What Lowe's says it does
Information Lowe’s Companies, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company or Lowe’s) is a Fortune ® 100 company and the world’s second largest home improvement retailer. As of January 30, 2026, Lowe’s operated 1,759 home improvement stores and outlets in the United States, representing approximately 196 million square feet of retail selling space. In addition, Lowe’s operated over 540 branch locations in the United States and Canada, which include our current year acquisitions of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) and Artisan Design Group (ADG). Lowe’s was founded in 1921 with the opening of its first hardware store in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The Company was incorporated in North Carolina in 1952 and has been publicly held since 1961. The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange - ticker symbol "LOW". For additional information about the Company’s performance and financial condition, see Item 7 ,…
Risk factors LOW lists in its 10-K
- Strategic, Competitive, Operational, and Reputational Risks
- We may be unable to adapt our business concept in a rapidly evolving retail environment to address the changing shopping habits, demands, and demographics of our customers
- We may not be able to realize the intended benefits of our strategic initiatives focused on providing an omnichannel shopping experience to our customers if we fail to deliver the capabilities required to execute on them
- If we fail to hire, train, manage, and retain qualified associates or corporate support staff with the capabilities of delivering on strategic objectives, our labor costs and results of operations could be negatively impacted
- Failure to achieve and maintain a high level of product and service quality could damage our image with customers, expose us to litigation and negatively impact our sales, profitability, cash flows, and financial condition
- Our sales and profitability depend on our ability to maintain our store base and maintain appropriate levels of inventory and failure to do so may affect our business, financial condition and result of operations
- The execution of initiatives to transform our supply chain network could disrupt our operations in the near term, and these investments might not provide the anticipated benefits
- Our inability to effectively and efficiently manage and maintain our relationships with selected suppliers of both national brand and private branded products could negatively impact our business operations and financial results
- Failure of a key vendor or service provider that we cannot quickly replace could disrupt our operations and negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations
- The failure of customer-facing technology systems to perform effectively and reliably could keep us from delivering positive customer experiences
- We are subject to payments-related risks that could increase our operating costs, expose us to fraud, subject us to potential liability and potentially disrupt our business
- Our growing use of AI and machine learning may present additional risks, including risks associated with algorithm development or use, the tools and data sets used and/or a complex, developing regulatory environment
- Our strategic transactions involve risks, and we may not realize the expected benefits because of numerous uncertainties and risks
- Legal, Regulatory and Other External Risks