# U.S. home improvement retail market trends

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/us-home-improvement-retail-market-trends
> Updated: 2026-08-15T09:36:51.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2.

Major U.S. home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe’s are navigating a period of slowing growth attributed to market saturation and macroeconomic pressures, including high interest rates and inflation.

While Lowe’s achieved an 11% increase in net sales growth for the first quarter of 2026, outpacing Home Depot’s 5% growth, new data reveals diverging operational trends. Home Depot has reported five consecutive quarters of declining comparable customer transactions, including a 1.3% drop in the most recent fiscal first quarter. To offset this, Home Depot has relied on higher average ticket prices and acquisitions to drive revenue. Specifically, fiscal first-quarter sales grew 4.8% year-over-year to $41.8 billion, with the average customer spending $92.76 per transaction.

Both companies maintain long histories of consistent dividend payments, though their recent strategies differ. Home Depot offers a higher annual dividend yield of 2.7% at $9.32 per share, whereas Lowe’s recently implemented a larger percentage dividend increase of over 4.2%, compared to Home Depot’s 1.2% hike.

Investor activity remains active in the sector. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its Home Depot position by 28.8% during the second quarter, holding shares valued at approximately $6.96 million. Other major institutional holders, such as Vanguard Group Inc., State Street Corp, and Geode Capital Management LLC, have also recently modified or increased their stakes in the retailer.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-15: Home Depot and Lowe's face diverging retail trends

Home Depot faces five consecutive quarters of declining customer transactions, while Lowe's shows stronger net sales growth and higher recent dividend increases.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/home-improvement-and-real-estate-stocks-see-shifting-institutional-holdings

### 2026-08-08: Home Depot prepares for Q2 earnings amid shifting retail trends

Home Depot is set to report Q2 fiscal 2026 earnings on Aug. 18. The retailer has maintained 17 years of dividend increases despite macroeconomic headwinds affecting the home improvement sector.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/home-depot-prepares-for-q2-earnings-amid-shifting-retail-trends

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Cite as: U.S. home improvement retail market trends. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/us-home-improvement-retail-market-trends