Lowe's Tumbles Following Mixed Q1 Earnings, Reduced Guidance

Lowe's Companies LOW reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.34. This is a 2.52 percent increase over earnings of $1.19 per share from the same period in 2018.

Lowe's reported quarterly sales of $17.741 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $17.7 billion. This is a 2.19 percent increase over sales of $17.36 billion the same period last year.

Lowe's cut FY2019 guidance from $6-$6.10 as of Feb. 27 to $5.45-$5.65 versus a $6.05 estimate.

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“The unanticipated impact of the convergence of cost pressure, significant transition in our merchandising organization, and ineffective legacy pricing tools and processes led to gross margin contraction in the quarter which impacted earnings,” said CEO Marvin Ellison in a press release.

“We are taking the necessary actions to more systematically analyze and implement retail price changes to mitigate cost pressure. Our recent acquisition of the Retail Analytics platform from Boomerang Commerce will also assist in modernizing and digitizing our approach to pricing."

Lowe's shares were trading around $101.82 Wednesday morning, down 8.3 percent.

Photo courtesy of Lowe's.