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Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
Lower valuation, weak fundamentals
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3 of 5 met · composite in line with peers
Business quality, valuation against the sector, and position in the 52-week range — whether they line up or not.
Stable quality
Profitability
3/4
Debt & liquidity
2/3
Efficiency
1/2
Valuation is where LOW separates from the sector: the P/E of 18.9× sits -36% below the sector median of 29.7×, and EV/EBITDA of 13.4× runs -35% below its median of 20.4×, placing the stock in the top quartile for cheapness within Consumer Discretionary. FCF yield of 6.1% also exceeds the sector median of 2.8%, so the cash return to price is real. The discount, however, sits alongside weak fundamentals: revenue grew 3.1% year over year, -22% below the sector median of 4.0%, and Debt/EBITDA of 3.2× exceeds the sector median of 1.1× by +191%, which limits financial flexibility. The F-Score of 6/9 and a composite of 54/100 against the sector median describe a business that is stable but not accelerating. Consensus models earnings growth ahead, yet the forward PEG reads stretched and the beat rate over eight quarters has been weak — the market's optimism deserves scrutiny against a realized growth record that lands in the mid range.
| Ticker | Name | F-Score | ROE | Revenue YoY | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | Amazon | 6/9 | 22% | +12% |
Quarter-by-quarter classification · a retrospective read by the current logic · not a price forecast
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. The method did not see these quarters in real time; this is the current logic applied to past reports.
The market prices in earnings growth; analyst sentiment is steady; has mostly beaten consensus.
Price against next year's expected earnings. The forward P/E already carries analyst optimism — read it alongside the “Versus consensus” line.
A forward P/E below the current one means the market expects earnings to grow; above it, to fall. The historical growth is realized figures from SEC filings, not a forecast.
The three-month change in the share of positive analyst ratings. This is sentiment, not an earnings-estimate revision, and not a call to act.
When Lowe's reports on August 19, focus on whether revenue growth narrows its 22% gap to the sector median. Also check whether the profitability block of the F-Score holds at 3/4, particularly asset turnover, which is the one efficiency signal currently below the median.
On SEC EDGAR, open Lowe's most recent 10-K and read the Liquidity section. Debt/EBITDA sits at 1.11×, roughly 2.9× the sector median — management's discussion should explain the capital allocation rationale and any planned deleveraging timeline.
From the same-sector table in section 06, pick two or three companies and line up their EV/EBITDA and Debt/EBITDA against Lowe's figures of 20.4× and 1.11×. That pairing shows whether the valuation discount is sector-wide or specific to Lowe's leverage profile.
Steps you can check yourself, based on the figures in this brief.
Piotroski F-Score: nine binary tests of financial strength from the annual report. A ✓ marks a test passed, a dot (·) a test failed.
Over 4 years: -18%-9%+25%-1%
Over 4 years: 2.742.652.843.22
Over 4 years: +1%-11%-3%+3%
The context on the right shows how each figure compares with the sector median. The trend below tracks the change over recent fiscal years.
Beat consensus in 8 of 8 recent quarters — the company clears estimates regularly (consensus is often set conservatively).
Last quarter's EPS against consensus, plus the estimated date of the next report.
| 11% |
| BABA | Alibaba | 3/9 | 10% | +8% | 5% |
| BKNG | Booking Holdings | 6/9 | — | +13% | 33% |
| F | Ford | 3/9 | -20% | +1% | -5% |
| GM | General Motors | 5/9 | 4% | -1% | 2% |
| HD | Home Depot | 3/9 | 146% | +3% | 13% |
| LOW | Lowe's Companies, Inc. | 6/9 | — | +3% | 12% |
| MAR | Marriott | 7/9 | — | +4% | 16% |
| MCD | McDonald's | 5/9 | — | +4% | 46% |
| NKE | Nike | 4/9 | 22% | +0% | — |
| ORLY | O'Reilly Automotive | 6/9 | — | +6% | 19% |
| ROST | Ross Stores | 6/9 | 37% | +8% | 12% |
| SBUX | Starbucks | 6/9 | — | +3% | 8% |
| TJX | TJX Companies | 7/9 | 59% | +7% | — |
| TSLA | Tesla | 5/9 | 5% | -3% | 5% |
| YUM | Yum! Brands | 4/9 | — | +9% | 31% |
A sample of 16 companies in the sector including the target, alphabetical, unranked. Data from the latest SEC annual reports.
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
A simplified retrospective read: no analyst forecast (not available historically); the source is the annual report as of the date, so neighbouring quarters can rest on the same data. Quarters with the same classification in a row are merged into one row — each row is one change in the read, not a separate quarter. One ticker is an illustration of the classification logic, not statistics. How we calculate →
The last few quarters are recent context, not a fixed rate. Consensus for near quarters is set low, so companies clear it routinely; over long horizons the forecasts run the other way, too high.
A description of what the market and analysts expect. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. Analyst forecasts run systematically optimistic over long horizons — read them with that discount.