Home improvement stocks have been on an uptrend. Two of the best home improvement stocks, Lowe’s and Home Depot, have both reported strong earnings. Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retail chain with 2219 big-box stores. Lowe’s is the second-largest with 1977 stores. Home Depot makes $112 billion in revenue while Lowe’s makes $74 billion in revenue.
Lowe’s had reported its Q12020 revenues at $19.68 billion as opposed to $17.74 billion in the same quarter the prior year. Its earnings per share at $1.76 were substantially higher than the earnings per share of $1.31 in the same quarter the prior year. Home Depot had reported its Q12020 earnings in May 2020. Revenues for the quarter were $28.3 billion, up 7% year-on-year. Earnings per share fell from $2.27 in Q12019 to $2.08 in Q12020.
Lowe’s and Home Depot remain the best home improvement chains stocks. Lowe’s has returned 12.68% from July-mid to August-mid while Home Depot has returned 10.14% during the same period. The S&P 500, for comparison, has returned 5.66% during the same period. The significant outperformance of the broader market makes these two great candidates for home improvement stocks to buy.
According to a recent survey conducted by Porch, a Seattle-based home improvement website, the average homeowner spent $17,140 on home improvements during the pandemic. The survey involved more than 1000 US homeowners. More than 75% of the surveyed homeowners reported engaging in at least one home improvement project during the pandemic. More importantly, 78% of the survey participants said that they plan to start a home improvement project in the next 12 months. So, if you are looking for home Improvement stocks to buy now, then the near-term prospects in terms of the demand look positive.
