Lowe’s Lowers 2012 Outlook, Shares Plunge

by Christopher Freeburn | May 21, 2012 10:54 am

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW[1]) reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ forecasts, but lowered its outlook[2] for the year.

Wall Street didn’t like the news, sending Lowe’s shares plunging more than 9% in early Monday trading.

The home-repair retailer reported a first-quarter profit of $527 million, up 14% from $461 million during the same time last year. First-quarter EPS was 43 cents, compared to 34 cents in 2011. The company said revenue during the quarter was $13.15 billion, up 8% from $12.19 billion last year.

The results beat analysts forecasts of 42 cents EPS on revenue of $12.99 billion, the Associated Press noted.

Looking forward, however, Lowe’s lowered its annual outlook from a previous forecast of between $1.75 and $1.85 a share to between $1.73 and $1.83 a share. Total revenue for the year was estimated in a range of $50.69 to $51.2 billion.

That disappointed analysts, who had expected EPS of $1.87 and revenue of $50.94 billion for the year.

Lowe’s officials attributed the quarter’s performance to warm weather during the spring, which drove earlier-than-usual consumer purchases. Rival Home Depot (NYSE:HD[3]) reported a similar boost in first-quarter results last week.

Same-store revenue at Lowe’s increased 2.6% during the quarter. The company operates 1,747 stores in North America.

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