Lowe’s surges in fourth quarter

Strengthened by strong holiday performance, a steadily recovering housing market and an increasingly omnichannel approach, Lowe¹s reported fourth quarter net sales of $15.8 billion, up 19.2% from $13.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago.



Net earnings for the quarter swelled to $663 million, up from $11 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.



Comparable sales increased 5.1% in the quarter.



"We achieved strong fourth quarter results, delivering comparable sales growth and adjusted earnings per share above our expectations," said Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. "We leveraged our omnichannel platform, customer experience design capabilities, and project expertise to drive strong holiday performance and capitalize on broad-based project demand throughout the quarter.²



For the full year, sales increased 10.1% to $65.0 billion. Net earnings were $3.1 billion compared to net earnings of $2.5 billion in fiscal 2015.



As of Feb. 3, Lowe's operated 2,129 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The chain’s total retail selling space measures 213.4 million sq. ft.



Lowe¹s acquired Canadian retailer RONA and its 500 corporate and dealer owned stores in May 2016.



Last month, Lowe's rival Home Depot reported record sales and earnings, along with 6.3% jump in U.S. comp-store sales.