Home Depot and Lowe's face diverging retail trends

Home Depot and Lowe's, the dominant players in the U.S. home improvement market, are facing different performance metrics as they approach their second-quarter earnings reports.

Home Depot has reported five consecutive quarters of declining comparable customer transactions. While fiscal first-quarter sales grew 4.8% year-over-year to $41.8 billion, the total number of transactions fell 1.3% in the most recent quarter. Revenue growth has instead been driven by larger average receipts and acquisitions, with the average customer spending $92.76 per transaction.

In contrast, Lowe's has shown stronger recent growth in net sales. In the first quarter of 2026, Lowe's reported an 11% increase in net sales, outpacing Home Depot's 5% increase. Both companies maintain long histories of dividend payments, though Lowe's recently implemented a larger percentage increase in its payout compared to Home Depot.