Lowe’s Sales Up 19% In Q4

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s recently released its sales and earnings results for the fourth quarter and the full year, indicating a strong end to 2016.

Lowe’s reported that comparable sales were up 5.1 percent in Q4, while overall sales grew a full 19 percent to $15.8 billion, up from $13.9 billion in the same period in 2015.

“We achieved strong fourth-quarter results, delivering comparable sales growth and adjusted earnings per share above our expectations,” said Lowe’s Chairman, President and CEO Robert A. Niblock in the earnings release.

Niblock went on to credit Lowe’s strong performance during the holiday shopping season, boosted by the company’s omnichannel platform, customer experience design capabilities and project expertise for their success in Q4.

For the full year, Lowe’s took in $65.0 billion in sales, a 10.1 percent increase year on year. Likewise, the home improvement retailer saw comp sales for the year rise 4.2 percent over 2015.

For the fiscal year ending February 3, 2017, Lowe’s reported net earnings at $3.1 billion with diluted earnings per share at $3.47 — up from net earnings of $2.5 billion and diluted earnings per share of $2.73 in 2015.

As of the end of this fiscal year, Lowe’s reported operating 2,129 home improvement and hardware stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Lowe’s growth is on trend with another major U.S. hardware chain, Home Depot, which likewise saw growth in Q4 and FY 2016. Both chains have for the most part avoided the struggle that big-name physical retailers have seen in the few years.

The two top home improvement retailers in the U.S. marketplace, Lowe’s and Home Depot, control 41 percent of all sales as of early 2016 and have continued to beat the industry trend of diminished customer spending and reduced sales.

For 2017’s outlook, Lowe’s anticipates a sales increase of 5 percent, along with comp sales growth somewhere around 3.5 percent. Additionally, the company expects to add some 35 home improvement and hardware stores across its countries of operation.