LOW
Lowe's
$221.53
▲ 1.4%Updated Today 11:30 AM ET
LOW at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Neutral · 50/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 5.4% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$127.56B
P/E
18.5x
Forward P/E (est.)
18.87x
ROE
264.5%
Revenue Growth
6.2%
EPS Growth
-1.9%
Profit Margin
7.5%
FCF Yield
7.2%
Debt / Equity
15.16x
ROIC
26.0%
Interest Coverage
30.58x
Current Ratio
1.09x
Dividend Yield
2.3%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
2.8%
Rating Score
50/100
Lowe's (LOW) is a large-cap company in the Home Improvement Retail industry, part of the Consumer Discretionary sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $127.56B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $86.29B in revenue and $6.65B in net profit.
Our model rates LOW Neutral (50/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (10 years of history).
The filed history looks like a business competitors struggle to attack: high and steady margins, revenue that grows through cycles, and strong returns on capital.
33.4% average over the last 3 years
±0.6 pts around 33.0% across 10 years
grew in 7 of the last 9 year-over-year periods
positive in 10 of 10 years
26.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what LOW's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. LOW trades near $221.53, below its 50-day average ($222.44) and 200-day average ($243.36). Price below both averages is a downtrend — momentum is against buyers for now.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 57 it is in neutral territory — neither stretched nor washed out.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. LOW's is $6.13 (~2.8% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month LOW found buyers near $206.89 (support) and sellers near $227.50 (resistance); its 52-week range is $203.40–$293.06. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.8× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
-2.7%
Revenue moved from $65.02B in 2017 to $86.29B in 2026, a 3.2% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a steady 6.2% year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Gross Margin
33.5%
Operating Margin
11.8%
Net Margin
7.7%
ROE
264.5%
Lowe's keeps about 7.5% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 33.5% gross margin and 11.8% operating margin. Return on equity is 264.5% and return on invested capital about 26.0%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Total Debt
$39.82B
Net Debt
$39.03B
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.84x
Debt / Equity
15.16x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 15.2x, and operating profit covers interest about 30.6x, with a current ratio of 1.1x. That is elevated leverage, which raises risk if earnings or rates move against it. It carries roughly $39.82B of total debt against $786.00M of cash.
Operating CF
$9.86B
Free Cash Flow
$7.65B
FCF Margin
8.9%
In the latest year Lowe's produced about $9.86B of operating cash flow and $7.65B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 7.2% on today's price. Strong cash generation funds dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
2.3%
Per share (latest FY)
$4.75
Total paid (latest FY)
$2.64B
History on record
10 years
dividend uses 34% of free cash flow
40% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 9 years in a row
no cuts in the last 10 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
18.5x
P/S
1.46x
P/B
83.27x
EV / EBITDA
—
LOW trades at 18.5x trailing earnings (about 18.9x on estimated forward earnings), 1.5x sales, and 83.3x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 2.8% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a fairly typical valuation for a profitable company.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$265.82
Current price
$221.53
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$7.65B
Growth, years 1–5
6.2%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where LOW sits versus its Consumer Discretionary sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 85 Consumer Discretionary companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How LOW stacks up against its Consumer Discretionary peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Consumer Discretionary sector (158 S&P 500 companies), LOW ranks #46 of 158 by our overall rating. It trades at a discount versus the sector on earnings (18.5x P/E vs. 25.8x median) with a higher return on equity (264.5% vs. 26.2%) and slower revenue growth (6.2% vs. 6.8%).
P/E vs sector
18.5x
median 25.8x
ROE vs sector
264.5%
median 26.2%
Growth vs sector
6.2%
median 6.8%
Sector rank
#46
of 158 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Consumer Discretionary companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 158 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $221.53 today · expected CAGR -4% – 7%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $91.46B | $96.95B | $102.77B | $108.93B | $115.47B |
| Net income | $7.32B | $7.76B | $8.22B | $8.71B | $9.24B |
| EPS | $12.71 | $13.47 | $14.28 | $15.13 | $16.04 |
| Share price (low) | $139.78 | $148.17 | $157.06 | $166.48 | $176.47 |
| Share price (high) | $241.44 | $255.92 | $271.28 | $287.56 | $304.81 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -37% / 9% | -18% / 7% | -11% / 7% | -7% / 7% | -4% / 7% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for LOW:
- Strong return on equity (264.5%) shows capital is put to work well.
- Healthy free-cash-flow yield (~7.2%) funds buybacks and dividends.
- Pays a 2.3% dividend on top of any price gains.
The case against LOW:
- Elevated leverage (debt/equity 15.2x) adds financial risk.
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Balance-sheet risk — debt/equity of 15.2x magnifies the impact of higher rates or weaker earnings.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the picture is mixed: Lowe's is a large-cap consumer discretionary business growing at a mature pace, with modest profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 18.5x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (50/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 41 Wall Street analysts covering LOW recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+5 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
LOW's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
In the Idea Lab
LOW — frequently asked questions
Is LOW a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Lowe's Neutral (50/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is LOW's rating on The Stocks School?
Lowe's currently scores 50/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does LOW's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Lowe's's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for LOW calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this LOW analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell LOW. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.