Lowe's sets FY 2026 EPS guidance

Lowe's Companies' official fiscal 2026 outlook, as of its Feb. 25 fourth-quarter earnings release, called for adjusted diluted earnings per share of $12.15 to $12.40, not the $12.25 to $12.75 range cited in a May 16 Daily Political report. The retailer also forecast fiscal 2026 sales of $92 billion to $94 billion, comparable sales ranging from flat to up 2%, operating margin of 11.2% to 11.4%, and adjusted operating margin of 11.6% to 11.8%. (corporate.lowes.com) The discrepancy matters because Lowe's has not yet posted a first-quarter 2026 earnings release updating that guidance on its corporate investor site. The company's quarterly earnings page listed only a webcast notice for the May 20 first-quarter call as of May 17, and its newsroom showed no separate announcement raising full-year EPS guidance. (corporate.lowes.com) Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe's chairman, president and chief executive, said in the Feb. 25 release that the company remained focused on productivity initiatives while the housing backdrop stayed pressured. The company tied its 2026 outlook to what it called ongoing uncertainty in the home improvement market. (corporate.lowes.com) ### Which EPS range has Lowe's actually published? Lowe's published the $12.15 to $12.40 adjusted diluted EPS range in its Feb. 25, 2026 fourth-quarter earnings release and the accompanying PDF filed on its corporate site. The same release said fiscal 2026 sales were expected to rise about 7% to 9% from the prior year. (corporate.lowes.com) Daily Political's May 16 item, by contrast, referred to a $12.25 to $12.75 range. Based on Lowe's publicly available materials reviewed on May 17, that higher range could not be verified on the company's official newsroom or quarterly earnings pages. That is an inference from the absence of a matching company release, not a statement by Lowe's. (corporate.lowes.com) ### What did Lowe's say when it gave the outlook? Feb. 25 was the date Lowe's introduced its full-year 2026 outlook alongside fourth-quarter 2025 results. The company reported fourth-quarter diluted EPS of $1.78, or $1.98 on an adjusted basis, on sales of $20.6 billion, up from $18.6 billion a year earlier. Comparable sales increased 1.3% in the quarter. (corporate.lowes.com) Ellison said the company's "Total Home" strategy was resonating with professional and do-it-yourself customers, and Lowe's said growth in Pro, online and home services sales helped drive comparable sales. Lowe's also said it awarded $125 million in discretionary bonuses to frontline associates after the quarter's outperformance. (corporate.lowes.com) ### Has Lowe's changed its dividend yet this spring? Lowe's board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.20 a share on March 19, payable May 6 to shareholders of record on April 22. That March declaration matched the prior quarterly rate and did not announce an increase. (corporate.lowes.com) The company's dividend history and prior press releases show Lowe's last increased the quarterly dividend on May 30, 2025, when it raised the payout to $1.20 from $1.15. In 2024, the annual increase was announced on May 31. ### When is the next official update due? Lowe's said on May 13 that it will host its first-quarter 2026 earnings conference call at 9 a.m. (corporate.lowes.com) Eastern time on Wednesday, May 20. The webcast will be available through the company's investor relations site, and the replay will be posted from noon Eastern that day through May 19, 2027. May 20 is the next scheduled point at which Lowe's could confirm, reaffirm or revise its fiscal 2026 guidance in official materials. (corporate.lowes.com) The company's investor page also lists its 2026 annual meeting, and any later dividend action would typically appear in a separate board-approved press release. (corporate.lowes.com 1) (corporate.lowes.com 2) (corporate.lowes.com 3)