Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 1Q19 Results: Revenues and Comps See Growth but Gross Margin Contracts

Executive Summary

• Lowe’s reported 1Q19 adjusted EPS of $1.22, up 2.5% but considerably short of the $1.33 consensus estimate. Revenues were $17.74 billion, up 2.2% and ahead of the $17.64 billion consensus estimate.
• Comps were 3.5%, beating the 3.0% consensus estimate.
• Gross margin contracted to 31.5% in 1Q19, compared to 33.1% in 1Q18.
• The company outlined guidance for 2019 with revenue growth of around 2%, in line with the 1.6% consensus estimate, for comps growth of approximately 3% and adjusted EPS of $5.45-5.65, below the consensus of $5.78.