This morning, Lowe's Companies (LOW -0.04%) reported some notable profits for the fiscal second quarter of 2020, which ended on July 31. It beat analyst consensus expectations in two important metrics: Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) exceeded average predictions of $2.95 by $0.80, coming in at $3.75, while revenue surpassed forecasts by more than $3 billion, amounting to $27.3 billion for the quarter.
Quarterly figures also rocketed ahead of Q2 2019 results by double-digit percentages. Comparable sales rose 34.2% year over year overall, with the U.S. home improvement business sector jumping 35.1%. While American sales performance was the best, even the least active markets saw comparable sales increase at least 20% according to Lowe's.
In his remarks on the results, president and CEO Marvin Ellison stated the positive results were "driven by a consumer focus on the home, core repair and maintenance activities, and wallet share shift away from other discretionary spending." His observation meshes with other news indicating the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, quarantines, and furloughs has strongly boosted home improvement activity among consumers.
Image source: Getty Images.
The strength of the trend is indicated by everything from lumber shortages in Alberta to the powerful sales growth of other sector businesses such as Home Depot, indicating Lowe's is likely on solid ground to continue its trajectory of profitability.
Nevertheless, Lowe's declined to issue any guidance in its latest report after initially withdrawing its 2020 outlook back on May 20. It states guidance is not possible at this time "due to limited visibility into future business trends in this unprecedented operating environment." The company's shares were up slightly in late morning trading.
