Lowe's Cos. (NYSE: LOW) reported Q4 EPS of $0.94, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.91. Revenue for the quarter came in at $16.03 billion versus the consensus estimate of $16.17 billion.

"In the fourth quarter, we delivered profitability that exceeded our expectations given strong expense management, improving gross margin and enhanced process execution. Our sales growth was driven almost entirely by our U.S. brick and mortar stores, supported by our investments in technology, store environment and the Pro business. We have a detailed road map in place to modernize our e-commerce platform and accelerate Lowes.com sales, which combined with the sales productivity improvement in our physical stores, underscores our opportunity to unlock additional growth," commented Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe's president and CEO.

"Though we are only one year into a multi-year plan, we made significant progress transforming our company and believe we are well positioned to capitalize on solid demand in a healthy home improvement market. We are entering 2020 from a position of strength and remain confident that our focus on retail fundamentals combined with technology improvements will continue to pay dividends across the business. I would like to thank all of our associates for their continued commitment to serving customers," added Ellison.

GUIDANCE:

Lowe's Cos. sees FY2020 EPS of $6.45-$6.65, versus the consensus of $6.67.

Fiscal Year 2020 (comparisons to fiscal year 2019)

• Total sales growth of approximately 2.5 to 3.0 percent.
• Comparable sales growth of approximately 3.0 to 3.5 percent.
• Operating income growth of approximately 12 to 16 percent.
• Adjusted operating income1 growth of approximately 8 to 12 percent.
• Operating income as a percentage of sales (operating margin) increase of approximately 80 to 100 basis points.
• Adjusted operating income1 as a percentage of sales (adjusted operating margin1) increase of approximately 50 to 70 basis points.
• Effective income tax rate and adjusted effective income tax rate of approximately 24.5%.
• Target leverage ratio of 2.75x, therefore the company expects to repurchase approximately $5 billion of stock.
• Diluted earnings per share of $6.38 to $6.58.
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share1 of $6.45 to $6.65.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Lowe's Cos. (LOW) click here.