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.
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.
Lowe's results come a day after rival Home Depot Inc. reported fourth-quarter results that missed analysts' estimates. Both chains were not only contending with bad weather in certain parts of the country during the period, but also a swoon in the real estate market.
Lowe's Cos. on Wednesday projected earnings between $6 and $6.10 for this year. Analysts had been expecting $6.04 per share. The retailer anticipates total sales rising about 2 percent for the year, with same-store sales up about 3 percent.