"While investors will be pleased with the solid operating performance, it is difficult to see much improvement in the home improvement sector," a Sanford C. Bernstein & Company analyst, Colin McGranahan, wrote in a note to clients.
While falling sales and prices for homes and the troubles in the subprime mortgage market have pressured the home improvement sector, Lowe's turned in better results than Home Depot, which said last week that quarterly earnings fell 15percentt on a 2percentt sales drop.
Yes, the shift to online purchases is also happening in the home improvement sector.
With the U.S. retail home improvement sector saturated, Nardelli since 2004 has plowed $2 billion into acquisitions.
The real issue here is whether the home improvement sector is reaching saturation.
Fassler kept his "Buy" rating on Home Depot, however, saying it has the edge in terms of sales productivity, profitability and financial returns in the home improvement sector.
Housing Market: Despite news regarding a weak housing market, reflected in the declining home sales figures, CEO Craig Menear stated that the company feels positive about the strength in the home improvement sector.
I recently learned of a small business owner in the home improvement sector, who is giving back by giving out a free home improvement contract for every 10 sales he makes.
The home-improvement sector, already benefiting from spending on rehabilitating foreclosed properties, can be expected to get an even larger boost in the coming months from owners who have deferred maintenance during the recession and newly minted empty nesters who want to turn Buffy's bedroom into a home office.
More importantly, Thursday's GDP report, though encouraging in that it showed the economy grew 3.5%, primarily showed improvement in sectors that have received a hefty dose of government support.
