On the surface, do-it-yourself big-box rivals Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) should rise and fall in tandem. They both target the home improvement market, their stores are similarly designed, and they both appeal to the handyman. Yet a look at their third-quarter earnings shows markedly different results, with Home Depot handily beating expectations and Lowe’s missing them, which forced it to cut its outlook for the year.
If both retailers are similarly positioned, why did they take divergent paths? Here’s a closer look revealing how they’re not quite two peas in a pod after all.
