- Lowe's weak quarter stands in stark contrast to retail rival
NEW YORK (AP) -- A hefty charge cut into first-quarter sales at Lowe's and investors were unimpressed by the retailer's profit, sending shares down sharply in early trading.
The contrast was even more stark for Wall Street, given the upward trajectory of Lowe's rival, Home Depot Inc.
Lowe's shares slumped 7 percent before the opening bell.
Profit fell 32 percent to $602 million, or 70 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted to extinguish debt, came to $1.03 per share, 4 cents shy of per-share projections from industry analysts, according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research.
Sales rose 10.7 percent to $16.86 billion, which was also below Wall Street projections of $17.04 billion.
Same-store sales, a key measure of health for retailers, rose only 2 percent during the quarter, short of analyst expectations of 3.1 percent, according to a survey by the data company FactSet.
Lowe's Cos., based in Mooresville, North Carolina, expects full-year earnings to be $4.30 per share, which is actually better than Wall Street expects.
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