Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) heads into the new week on firmer footing after a sharp post‑earnings rebound, even as the home‑improvement cycle remains sluggish and management has trimmed its profit outlook for 2025.
As of Friday’s close on November 21, 2025, Lowe’s stock finished at $234.29, up 2.57% on the day and logging a third straight session of gains, outpacing the broader market’s roughly 1% rise. [1]
Key takeaways on Lowe’s stock today (LOW)
- Price & performance: LOW closed Friday at $234.29, about 16.5% below its 52‑week high of $280.64 and comfortably above its recent lows, with trading volume around 6 million shares, more than double its 50‑day average. [2]
- Q3 2025 results: Lowe’s beat earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $3.06 vs. about $2.97 expected, while revenue of $20.8 billion rose just over 3% year over year and landed slightly under Wall Street forecasts. [3]
- Guidance reset: Management raised full‑year sales guidance to $86 billion but narrowed adjusted EPS guidance to about $12.25 and now expects flat comparable sales for 2025, reflecting a still‑soft renovation backdrop. [4]
- Macro overhang: High borrowing costs and cautious consumers continue to weigh on big‑ticket projects, but smaller repair and replacement jobs remain healthy, and management sees a potential tailwind if interest rates fall further. [5]
- Valuation & Street view: At around 19x trailing earnings, LOW trades at a discount to the broader U.S. equity market’s high‑20s P/E, and the stock carries a “Moderate/Overweight Buy”‑style consensus with average 12‑month targets clustered around the mid‑$270s, implying high‑teens percentage upside from current levels. [6]
Note: All market data and valuations are as of the close on Friday, November 21, 2025. U.S. markets are closed today, Sunday, November 23.
Lowe’s stock today: price action, range and dividend profile
Lowe’s stock ended Friday at $234.29, up 2.57% on the session as investors continued to digest its third‑quarter report and updated outlook. That move beat the S&P 500’s 0.98% gain and the Dow’s 1.08% advance, extending LOW’s winning streak to three days. [7]
The stock is:
- ~16.5% below its 52‑week high of $280.64, reached in December 2024
- Well above its 52‑week low near $206, set earlier in 2025 [8]
Short‑term performance has been choppy. Over the last month, Lowe’s shares are still down low‑single digits, and year‑to‑date they’re off by roughly mid‑single‑digits, lagging a U.S. market where the S&P 500 is up low‑to‑mid‑teens this year depending on the index and methodology. [9]
From an income standpoint, the stock offers:
- A quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annually
- A forward dividend yield around 2.0–2.1% at current prices
- A dividend growth streak of more than 50 consecutive years [10]
This combination of a modest yield, long dividend history and ongoing buybacks has made Lowe’s a core holding for many dividend‑growth and blue‑chip portfolios.
Q3 2025 earnings: EPS beat, modest sales growth and better margins
Lowe’s fiscal third quarter (three months ended October 31, 2025) reflected a familiar pattern for many retailers this year: earnings and margins ahead of expectations, but revenue a touch light.
Headline numbers
According to the company’s release and subsequent analyses: [11]
- Net sales: about $20.8–20.81 billion, up ~3.2% year over year
- Net earnings:$1.6 billion, down from $1.9 billion a year earlier, largely due to acquisition‑related costs
- Reported diluted EPS:$2.88 vs. $2.99 last year
- Adjusted diluted EPS:$3.06, up roughly 6% from the prior year and ahead of the ~$2.97 consensus estimate
- Comparable sales:+0.4%, below expectations of around +1%
- Online sales:+11.4%, with double‑digit growth in home services and continued strength with professional (“Pro”) customers
Part of the decline in reported profit stems from $129 million in pre‑tax expenses tied to the acquisitions of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) and Artisan Design Group (ADG), which management frames as investments in its higher‑margin Pro and installation businesses. [12]
Margins, however, moved in the right direction:
- Gross margin improved to about 34.2%, up roughly 50 basis points
- Adjusted operating margin climbed to around 12.4% [13]
Market reaction
Despite the slight revenue miss and modest comp growth, investors cheered the EPS beat and margin progress. Reports show Lowe’s shares jumping between 3–5% on and immediately after the earnings release, with strength carrying into Friday’s session. [14]
Crucially, Lowe’s outperformed Home Depot on some key metrics: while both big‑box rivals faced weak big‑ticket demand, Lowe’s posted slightly stronger comparable‑sales growth and more upbeat commentary on early‑November trends, helping LOW stand out in an otherwise challenged category. [15]
Guidance reset: higher sales, slightly lower profit expectations
The other big headline for investors was Lowe’s updated full‑year 2025 outlook.
Coming out of Q3, management now expects: [16]
- Total 2025 sales: about $86.0 billion, raised from a prior range of $84.5–$85.5 billion
- Comparable sales: now expected to be flat year over year, versus previous guidance of flat to +1%
- Adjusted diluted EPS:~$12.25, narrowed from $12.20–$12.45
- Adjusted operating margin: around 12.1%, slightly trimmed from a prior 12.2–12.3% range
In plain English: Lowe’s thinks it will do more revenue than expected, but make slightly less profit per dollar of sales than it previously hoped.
Reuters and other outlets characterize this as a “cautiously realistic” reset, reflecting ongoing pressure on big projects rather than a collapse in underlying demand. [17]
CEO Marvin Ellison also highlighted that early November comparable sales were positive, suggesting some momentum heading into the crucial holiday and winter‑projects season, even if management isn’t ready to promise a full‑blown recovery yet. [18]
Strategy check: Pro expansion, acquisitions and the “Total Home” plan
While the macro environment is driving a lot of short‑term volatility in LOW, the company continues to push on several strategic levers that matter for the long run.
1. Building a bigger Pro business
Lowe’s has been explicit about its goal to close the gap with Home Depot in professional contractor sales. Key moves in 2025 include:
- Completing the $8.8 billion acquisition of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) in October, adding more than 370 distribution locations across the U.S. and Canada and significantly expanding its reach in wallboard, ceilings and insulation. [19]
- Finalizing the acquisition of Artisan Design Group, a major installer and distributor focused on flooring and interior finishes, earlier in 2025. [20]
These deals plug directly into Lowe’s “Total Home” strategy, first detailed in late 2024, which focuses on growing share in Pro, improving the omnichannel experience and expanding services like installation and home projects. [21]
Acquisition costs weighed on Q3 earnings, but management and several analysts argue that increased exposure to Pro customers and project‑based revenue should support higher margins and stickier relationships over time. [22]
2. Digital and services growth
The quarter also underscored Lowe’s digital momentum:
- Online sales grew 11.4%, more than double the overall comp growth
- Home services and installation posted double‑digit increases
- Management highlighted improved digital tools that help customers plan projects and schedule services, bridging the gap between “inspiration” and execution. [23]
This is strategically important; Pro customers and serious DIYers increasingly expect seamless digital ordering, scheduling and fulfillment, especially for complex or multi‑stage projects.
Consumer backdrop: small projects are in, big remodels are on hold
The biggest headwind for Lowe’s isn’t company‑specific — it’s the macro environment.
On the Q3 call and in subsequent coverage, Lowe’s leadership and industry reporters painted a consistent picture: [24]
- Large‑scale renovations remain sluggish. High borrowing costs, housing‑market stagnation and economic uncertainty are causing households to shelve big remodels that often need financing.
- Smaller, “must‑do” projects are holding up. Customers are spending on water heaters, plumbing fixtures, windows and other repair/replacement items, as well as seasonal décor and tools.
- Consumers are value‑focused and cautious. Retailers across categories report anxious shoppers trading down, hunting for deals and prioritizing essentials over discretionary big‑ticket purchases.
- Interest‑rate path matters. Lowe’s executives noted that further rate cuts could unlock an estimated $11–13 billion in home‑equity borrowing capacity, potentially sparking a new wave of renovation activity into 2026. [25]
In this context, Lowe’s Q3 numbers look better than the headline “flat comps” might suggest: the company is growing share in healthier categories (online, services, Pro) while enduring an unusually long pause in large discretionary projects — a pause that may eventually reverse as rates normalize and housing turnover picks up. [26]
How LOW compares with peers after Q3
On Friday, Lowe’s stock did more than just bounce — it outperformed several major peers:
- Lowe’s (LOW): +2.57% to $234.29
- Home Depot (HD): +3.29%
- Amazon (AMZN): +1.63%
- Walmart (WMT): –1.67% [27]
That daily snapshot sits on top of a more mixed year‑to‑date performance:
- LOW is down mid‑single‑digits in 2025, depending on the data source and whether dividends are considered. [28]
- The S&P 500 is up low‑to‑mid‑teens year‑to‑date, and many growth‑ and AI‑heavy indices have done even better. [29]
That means Lowe’s has underperformed the broad market this year, but largely for macro and cyclical reasons rather than any obvious execution blow‑ups, which is partly why value‑ and dividend‑oriented investors have been circling the name. [30]
Valuation and analyst sentiment for Lowe’s stock
From a valuation perspective, LOW looks reasonable rather than cheap or bubbly:
- Most recent estimates put Lowe’s trailing P/E ratio around 19x, based on a ~$234 share price and trailing‑twelve‑month EPS just above $12. [31]
- By comparison, broad U.S. equity benchmarks screen at mid‑20s to high‑20s P/E ratios on various trailing and forward measures. [32]
That places Lowe’s at a discount to the overall U.S. market, which is typical for a mature, cyclical retailer but may appeal to investors looking for earnings quality at a less‑than‑tech‑stock multiple.
Wall Street’s stance is cautiously positive:
- MarketBeat and other aggregators show a “Moderate Buy” / “Overweight”‑style consensus, with an average 12‑month price target in the mid‑$270s, implying high‑teens upside from current levels. [33]
- Target prices span a wide range, from roughly $230 on the low end to $320+ on the high end, reflecting disagreement about the pace of a home‑improvement recovery. [34]
Recent analyst moves have largely been fine‑tuning rather than wholesale re‑ratings: some firms have trimmed targets to reflect the softer macro and flat comps, while others argue that the combination of Pro growth, acquisitions and margin discipline leaves LOW well‑positioned for when renovation activity accelerates again. [35]
Key things to watch for LOW in the weeks ahead
For investors tracking Lowe’s stock into year‑end and early 2026, several catalysts and risk factors stand out:
- Holiday and winter‑project trends
- Interest‑rate expectations and housing data
- Market moves in November have been heavily influenced by speculation about further Federal Reserve rate cuts, which directly affect mortgage and home‑equity borrowing costs. [38]
- Any improvement in existing‑home sales, housing turnover or mortgage affordability would likely be welcomed by both Lowe’s and Home Depot as a sign that big projects might finally unfreeze. [39]
- Integration of FBM and ADG acquisitions
- Investors will be watching for concrete updates on synergies, cross‑selling and margin impacts from the FBM and ADG deals, which together give Lowe’s a much broader platform in Pro and installed services. [40]
- Capital allocation: dividends and buybacks
- Lowe’s has already declared its $1.20 quarterly dividend payable in early February 2026, reinforcing its commitment to returning cash to shareholders. [41]
- With a dividend payout ratio around 39% and a history of share repurchases, investors will look for signs that the company continues to balance growth investments with shareholder returns. [42]
Bottom line: what today’s setup means for Lowe’s stock
As of November 23, 2025, Lowe’s stock is in an interesting spot:
- The company has proven it can beat earnings expectations and expand margins even in a tough environment.
- It has raised its full‑year sales target and is leaning into Pro customers, digital commerce and services through a series of sizable acquisitions.
- Yet the shares are still trading well below their 52‑week high, weighed down by weak big‑ticket demand, cautious consumers and macro uncertainty that could persist into 2026. [43]
For investors who are comfortable with cyclical, consumer‑exposed names, Lowe’s currently offers a blend of:
- A roughly 2% dividend yield backed by decades of increases
- A mid‑teens to low‑20s implied upside based on typical analyst targets
- Exposure to a potential home‑improvement upcycle if interest rates fall further and housing activity normalizes [44]
At the same time, anyone considering LOW needs to weigh:
- The risk that renovation demand stays muted longer than expected
- Execution risk on large acquisitions and Pro expansion
- The possibility of further multiple compression if the broader market rerates or if earnings growth disappoints [45]
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment or trading advice. It does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or risk tolerance. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions.
References
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