Investing.com - Lowe’s reported mixed results for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, but maintained an upbeat outlook for the American economy as concerns over the strength of the U.S. housing market cast a shadow over home improvement retailers.
Lowe’s reported earnings per share of $0.80 on revenue of $15.65 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com expected EPS of $0.79 on revenue of $15.75 billion.
The numbers from the second largest home improvement retailer followed disappointing earnings released Tuesday by rival Home Depot (NYSE:HD), but Marvin Ellison, Lowe's president and chief executive officer, maintained that “U.S. macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound for 2019”.
The stalled housing market has some investors wondering if home improvement projects will also decline, hitting bottom lines.
Builders have slowed housing starts as high real estate prices hit affordability, reducing the number of would-be buyers. The number of homes being built in the U.S. plunged to its lowest level in two years, according to data for December recently released by the Commerce Department.
Home builder confidence also fell to a three-and-a-half year low in December due to higher mortgage rates caused by last year’s policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
Ellison tried to waylay these concerns in the press release: “Most of the intense work over the past six months to transform our company has been in preparation for an improved spring season and fiscal 2019,” he said.
At 6:24 AM ET (11:24 GMT), shares of Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) showed little reaction to the report, dipping 0.03% to $105.00.
Lowe’s follows other major Services sector earnings this month
On Jan. 31, Amazon.com reported fourth quarter EPS of $6.04 on revenue of $72.38B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $5.65 on revenue of $71.88B.
Alibaba earnings beat analyst's expectations on Jan. 30, with third quarter EPS of $12.19 on revenue of $117.28B. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $11.45 on revenue of $119.03B
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