Lowe’s (NYSE:LO) on Wednesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, while also issuing a conservative outlook for the current year.
Q4 Earnings per share proved $2.28 adjusted, vs. $2.21 expected, on revenue of $22.45 billion vs. $22.69 billion expected.
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 3 was $957 million, compared with $1.21 billion, or $1.78 per share, a year earlier.
Sales rose to $22.45 billion from $21.34 billion a year earlier. However, Lowe’s fiscal fourth quarter included an extra week that saw $1.4 billion in sales. Without that additional week, sales would have declined slightly from the year-ago period.
Overall same-store sales fell 1.5%, with a 0.7% decline in the U.S.
For fiscal 2023, Lowe’s said it expects total sales to be between $88 billion and $90 billion, compared with Wall Street expectations of $90.48 billion. The company also expects same-store sales to be flat or down 2% compared to the prior fiscal year.
The company expects its earnings per share for the year to be $13.60 to $14.00, versus $13.79 projected by analysts.
This time last year, Lowe’s was benefiting from a red-hot housing market that led many to fix up and renovate their homes. As the market gradually cooled towards the second half of 2022, Wall Street’s expectations fell compared to prior quarters.
LO shares cratered $4.84, or 2.4%, to $200.91.
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