© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Shoppers load a box of merchandise into a truck after visiting a Lowe’s hardware store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mark Makela/File Photo
(Reuters) – Lowe’s (NYSE:) Cos Inc raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday, encouraged by higher prices and steady demand for home improvement products despite decades-high inflation and cooling home prices.
Higher mortgage rates are keeping consumers from buying new homes and instead renovating their existing properties, which has buoyed demand at home improvement chains at a time when spending on paint and tools has slowed from the pandemic peak.
Lowe’s upbeat earnings forecast comes in contrast with comments from larger rival Home Depot Inc (NYSE:), which on Tuesday left its annual forecasts unchanged despite beating quarterly results estimates, blaming “mixed signals” around demand amid a slowing housing market.
Lowe’s said it now expects full-year earnings of $13.65 to $13.80 per share, compared with its prior estimate of $13.10 to $13.60.
Analysts on average forecast annual profit of $13.54 per share, Refinitiv IBES data showed.
The company’s same-store sales rose 2.2% in the third quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 0.9% increase.
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