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Investing.com – Lowe’s stock (NYSE:LOW) traded 4.7% higher in Wednesday’s trade as the retailer raised its previous forecast for 2021 sales by $6 billion to $92 billion.
Total sales for the second quarter were $27.6 billion compared to $27.3 billion in the second quarter of 2020, and comparable sales decreased 1.6%.
Comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business decreased 2.2% for the second quarter as people returned to work and demand for the company’s do-it-yourself products softened. This was mitigated by higher sales of pricier items.
Lowe’s said August is witnessing strong sales.
The fall wasn’t as bad as analysts thought it would be and that allowed the company to beat estimates for both revenue and earnings per share. EPS of $4.25 was higher than the $3.99 forecast.
The company raised its forecast for operating margin, too, to 12.2% from 12% earlier. It has committed at least $2.8 billion to stock buybacks in the second half of the year.
