Tough spring weather and weaker lumber prices contributed to a mixed quarter at Lowe’s Cos., yet one in which the company managed to exceed Wall Street expectations.
Adjusted for one-time events, diluted earnings per share came in at $3.67 with no adjustment taken in the year-earlier quarter.
Lowe’s beat a Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus estimate on adjusted diluted earnings per share, pegged at $3.44, and revenues, set at $21.6 billion.
Comparable sales slipped 4.3% under pressure from lumber price deflation, unfavorable weather and lower do-it-yourself discretionary sales, the company pointed out. Net sales were $22.35 billion versus $23.66 billion in the year-before quarter. Operating income was $3.29 billion versus $3.3 billion in the period a year previous.
“We are pleased with the performance of our business despite record lumber deflation and unfavorable spring weather,” said Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO, in announcing the financial results. “Although we delivered positive comparable sales in Pro and online for the first quarter, we are updating our full-year outlook to reflect softer-than-expected consumer demand for discretionary purchases. We remain optimistic about the medium-to-long term outlook for home improvement and our ability to continue to grow market share through our Total Home strategy.”
