# Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) — Stock CV

Lowe's Companies Inc. is a $104B consumer company. Revenue shrank 13.8% over the last year, it keeps 8¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~1.7 years of free cash flow. It trades at 15.7× earnings — in the cheapest third of its own history.

> Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with 1,761 stores in the US, after the 2023 divestiture of its Canadian locations.

## Identity

- **Ticker**: LOW
- **Sector**: Consumer Cyclical
- **Industry**: Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers
- **Headquarters**: MOORESVILLE, NC
- **Employees**: 276 000
- **Website**: https://www.lowes.com
- **Market cap**: $104B
- **Last price**: $186.06
- **Financial profile**: Mixed

## Vitals (TTM)

- **Revenue**: $207B
- **Net income**: $16.3B
- **Free cash flow**: $22.4B
- **Net debt**: $38.9B
- **P/E**: 15.7
- **Revenue growth (YoY)**: -13.8%

## Skills (profile scores, 0–100)

| Pillar | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 95 |
| Growth | 11 |
| Profitability | 70 |
| Health | 48 |
| Quality | 85 |
| Moat | 81 |

## Qualifications (beginner checklist) — 10 of 11 passed

- [ ] Revenue growing — -13.8% YoY
- [x] Profitable — $16.3B TTM
- [x] Profit growing — +5.2% YoY
- [x] Generates cash — $22.4B TTM
- [x] Debt under control — ~1.7y of cash flow to repay
- [x] Established company — $104B market cap
- [x] Not printing shares — -11.4% shares over ~5y
- [x] Proven track record — 12/12 profitable years
- [x] Financially stable — Altman Z 2.1 — grey
- [x] Pays a dividend — yield 2.58%
- [x] Valuation not extreme — P/E 15.7

## Experience (career milestones)

- **2025** — Lowe's agreed to acquire Foundation Building Materials for $8.8 billion in cash in August 2025, purchasing the home…
- **FY2021** — Best year on record: $23.3B net income
- **FY2020** — Revenue crossed $100B: $226B for the year
- **FY2016** — Profitable every year on record: 12 consecutive profitable years in our data
- **FY2016** — Revenue already above $50B: $65.0B in first reported year
- **FY2016** — Positive free cash flow every year since: 12-year streak
- **1989** — Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain in the United States (previously the largest in the U.S
- **1952** — Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's, and the company was incorporated as Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware

## Strengths

- Interest covered 7.3× by operating earnings
- High returns on invested capital (ROIC 17.9%)

## Watch-outs

- Revenue shrinking 13.8% year over year
- Net debt would take ~5.1 years of free cash flow to repay

## Track record

| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | $225B | $21.7B | $19.7B |
| FY2024 | $215B | $18.7B | $25.5B |
| FY2025 | $218B | $18.0B | $23.8B |
| FY2026 | $224B | $17.9B | $23.1B |
| FY2027 | $72.1B | $5.64B | $8.78B |

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Source: https://stockcv.com/LOW — derived from company filings; may be delayed or incomplete. Information, not investment advice.