World News | DIY Projects Ramp Up in Pandemic, and So Do Sales at Lowe's
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Comparable store sales in the US surged 35.1 per cent at Lowe's and online orders more than doubled with Americans spending much more time at home during the pandemic.
New York, Aug 19 (AP) Comparable store sales in the US surged 35.1 per cent at Lowe's and online orders more than doubled with Americans spending much more time at home during the pandemic.
The report comes one day after Home Depot reported similarly explosive sales.
Lowe's revenue for the three months ended July 31 climbed to USD 27.3 billion from USD 21 billion, the company said Wednesday, far better than the USD 24.85 billion analysts expected according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Online sales soared 135 per cent, while same-store sales, including those outside the US, rose 34.2 per cent.
CEO Marvin Ellison said in a prepared statement that customers seemed mostly focused on repair and maintenance of their homes.
At the same time, many are focused on finding a new home with more space for an office from which to work remotely, or one with a yard rather than a stoop.
On Tuesday the Commerce Department reported that construction of new US homes surged 22.6 per cent last month.
The department said that new homes were started at an annual pace of nearly 1.5 million in July, the highest since February and well above what economists were expecting.
The National Association of Realtors said last month that its index of pending sales rose 16.6 per cent, to 116.1 in June, its highest level since 2006.
Lowe's earned USD 2.83 billion, or USD 3.74 per share, in the quarter. Removing restructuring costs, earnings were USD 3.75 per share. That's better than the USD 3.03 per share Wall Street expected.
Shares of Lowe's Companies Inc., based in Mooresville, North Carolina, climbed slightly before the market opened Wednesday.(AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)