Lowe's Companies Shares Rally After Q2 Beat, Raised FY21 Sales Outlook

Lowe's Companies Inc LOW reported second-quarter FY21 sales growth of 1% year-on-year, to $27.57 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $26.79 billion.
Comparable sales decreased 1.6%. Comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business fell 2.2%.
EPS of $4.25 beat the analyst consensus of $4.00.
Gross profit was nearly flat at $9.3 billion, with a profit margin contracting 30 basis points to 33.78%.
The operating margin expanded 78 basis points to 15.27%, and operating income for the quarter rose 6.4% to $4.2 billion.
The company held $4.8 billion in cash and equivalents as of July 30, 2021.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the six months totaled $6.9 billion.
"Looking forward, I am confident in the positive outlook for our industry, and our ability to drive operating margin expansion and market share gains," said CEO Marvin R. Ellison.
Outlook: Lowe's sees FY21 sales ~$92 billion (original outlook $86 billion) versus the consensus of $91.53 billion.
It expects the gross margin rate up slightly and operating margin of 12.2%.
Price action: LOW shares are trading higher by 10.3% at $201.1 on the last check Wednesday.

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