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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

Lowe’s swings to fourth quarter loss on charges, anemic housing market

FILE- In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo sales associate Larry Wardford, of Holliston, Mass., places items on selves at a Lowe's retail home improvement and appliance store, in Framingham, Mass. Lowe's Companies, Inc. reports financial results Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
FILE- In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo sales associate Larry Wardford, of Holliston, Mass., places items on selves at a Lowe's retail home improvement and appliance store, in Framingham, Mass. Lowe's Companies, Inc. reports financial results Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Lowe’s swung to a loss in its fourth quarter, weighed down by sizeable one-time charges and a lethargic housing market.

The home improvement company lost $824 million, or $1.03 per share, for the period ended Feb. 1. That includes $1.6 billion in charges, most from a $952 million goodwill impairment charge. Stripping out the charges, earnings were 80 cents per share, a penny better than analysts polled by FactSet had expected.

photo FILE- In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo a cyclist rides near an entrance to a Lowe’s retail home improvement and appliance store in Framingham, Mass. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. reports financial results Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

A year ago the Mooresville, North Carolina, company earned $554 million, or 67 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $15.65 billion from $15.5 billion, short of Wall Street expectations.

Sales at stores open at least a year increased 1.7 percent, and 2.4 percent in the U.S. This metric is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.