Home Depot vs Lowe's, side by side
Both are giant US home-improvement chains offering tools, building materials and everything for renovating a home, and both rise and fall with the US housing and renovation cycle. The difference is emphasis: Home Depot leans more towards professional contractors and tradespeople who shop often and in volume, while Lowe's leans more towards DIY consumers tackling their own projects at home.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on income and value, and weakest on growth.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on momentum.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  The Home Depot, Inc. |  Lowe's Companies, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $331.96 | $207.81 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | $331.00B | $116.58B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 23.7 | 17.8 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Revenue growth | 4.8% | 10.3% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | -8% | -7% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 20.6 | 15.4 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 8.4% | 7.5% |
| ROE | 128.4% | — |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.95 | 0.85 |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
The Home Depot, Inc. is roughly 3x the size of Lowe's Companies, Inc. by market value. On our factor screen The Home Depot, Inc. currently screens higher on momentum and quality, while Lowe's Companies, Inc. screens higher on value and growth. The Home Depot, Inc. trades on the higher P/E (23.7 vs 17.8), so more expectation is already built into its price.
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
The Home Depot, Inc., in one line
The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer, supplying everything from timber and tools to paint and appliances for DIYers and professionals.
Read the full The Home Depot, Inc. explainer →Lowe's Companies, Inc., in one line
Lowe's is a massive American home improvement retailer that supplies everything from power tools to paint for DIY enthusiasts and professional builders.
Read the full Lowe's Companies, Inc. explainer →Common questions
What is the difference between Home Depot and Lowe's?
Both offer the same broad range of tools, materials and home-improvement goods, but they serve slightly different crowds. Home Depot skews more towards professional contractors and tradespeople, who tend to spend more per visit. Lowe's skews more towards DIY consumers doing their own home projects. The two overlap heavily and compete for both groups.
Why do Home Depot and Lowe's shares often move together?
Both depend on the same drivers - the US housing market, home prices, interest rates and how much people spend on renovating. When those conditions shift, demand for both tends to move the same way, so news about housing or DIY spending often nudges both share prices at once.