Lowe's Stock Gains On Stronger-Than-Expected Q3 Results

Lowe's Companies Inc LOW reported third-quarter FY22 sales growth of 2.5% year-on-year to $23.48 billion, beating the consensus of $23.13 billion.
Comparable sales increased 2.2%, while comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business rose 3%.
Adjusted EPS of $3.27 beat the analyst consensus of $3.10.
Gross profit rose 3% Y/Y to $7.8 billion, with a profit margin expanding 20 basis points to 33.30%.
The operating margin contracted 824 basis points to 3.93%, and operating income for the quarter plunged 66.8% to $924 million.
The company held $3.7 billion in cash and equivalents as of October 28, 2022. Net cash provided by operating activities for the nine months totaled $8.1 billion.
During the quarter, the company repurchased about 20.5 million shares for $4.0 billion and paid $666 million in dividends.
Outlook: Lowe's now expects FY22 comparable sales to be flat to down -1%.
LOW's FY22 sales outlook ranges at $97 billion - $98 billion (Prior view $97 billion - $99 billion) versus the consensus of $96.97 billion.
It raised the FY22 adjusted EPS forecast from $13.10 - $13.60 to $13.65 - $13.80, against the consensus of $13.54.
Price Action: LOW shares are trading higher by 1.66% at $212.31 in premarket on the last check Wednesday.
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