, Columnists
Lowe’s Faces a Built-In Hurdle to Close $30 Billion Gap
Its footprint is a challenge in trying to keep up with its larger rival Home Depot.
Second fiddle in more ways than one.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lowe’s Cos. is far from a troubled retailer. The home-improvement chain’s share price has risen more than 93 percent in the last five years as it delivered steady sales growth amid a largely healthy housing market.
Even with signs that the housing market may be cooling, Lowe’s reported Tuesday that it kept up its streak of sales gains in the latest quarter. And yet its 1.5 percent gain in comparable sales from a year earlier trailed analysts’ estimates and lagged behind industry pacesetter Home Depot’s robust 4.8 percent rise.