(Reuters) – Lowe’s Cos Inc reported a 25.9% jump in quarterly same-store sales on Wednesday, as fresh stimulus checks helped keep demand for home improvement products resilient even as more traditional avenues for spending opened up.
Stuck-at-home Americans created a surge in demand for tools, paint and building materials in the last year, as limited options for travel or leisure pushed homeowners to spend more of their discretionary income on minor remodeling and repair work.
However, Lowe’s growth lagged behind larger rival Home Depot Inc, which reported a much better-than-expected 31% jump in same-store sales on Tuesday.
Analysts had estimated a 19.2% increase for Lowe’s, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, but that average was taken before Home Depot’s blowout sales figures.
Total net sales at Lowe’s rose to $24.42 billion from $19.68 billion, beating estimates of $23.86 billion.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
