The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) vs Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) Stock Comparison

Compare Stocks › HD vs LOW

The Home Depot, Inc.

$328.21

LOW

Lowe's Companies, Inc.

$229.71

Rewards

★The Home Depot, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
★The Home Depot, Inc. scores 87/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with margin stability as the strongest competitive dimension.
★Dividend yield of 2.82% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

LOW

★Lowe's Companies, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
★Lowe's Companies, Inc. scores 84/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
★Share count has been reduced by 16% over the past 5 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.

Risks

⚠FCF yield of 2.6% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
⚠High leverage (5.10x debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
⚠Insiders have sold $2.6M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.

LOW

⚠Each dollar of retained earnings has produced only $0.11 of market value — shareholders may have been better served by dividends.
⚠Insiders have sold $7.4M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.

Key Valuation Metrics

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LOW

Valuation

$8.62B

Free Cash Flow

$5.40B

2.64%

FCF Yield

4.19%

23.06

Trailing P/E

19.38

20.12

Forward P/E

16.79

Quality & Moat

16.77%

ROIC

12.66%

110.48%

ROE

N/A

33.32%

Gross Margin

33.48%

N/A

PEG Ratio

N/A

Balance Sheet Safety

5.10

Debt / Equity

N/A

Interest Coverage

N/A

2.56

Net Debt / EBITDA

3.51

2.82%

Dividend Yield

2.08%

HD: 4Ties: 2LOW: 3

HDLOW

Historical Fundamentals

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Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

LOW

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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$0.69

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Mediocre Allocator

Σ Retained

$21.95B

Δ Market Cap

+$15.12B

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

LOW

$0.11

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Value Destroyer

Σ Retained

$13.65B

Δ Market Cap

+$1.56B

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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155.8% Overvalued

Price is 155.8% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $328.21

Strongly undervalued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $128.33

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

LOW

67.1% Overvalued

Price is 67.1% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $229.71

Strongly undervalued

Fairly valued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $137.43

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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What growth rate is the market pricing in at $328?

+18.9%

Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

Market pricing in significantly higher growth than history — aggressive.

LOW

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $230?

+14.1%

Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

Market pricing in significantly higher growth than history — aggressive.

Economic Moat Score

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87/100

Wide Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Margin Stability is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.

LOW

84/100

Wide Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Forensic Accounting

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-1.89

Possible Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

LOW

-2.80

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Ownership Breakdown

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Insiders 0.1%Institutions 74.6%Retail & Other 25.4%

No. of Institutional Holders5,084

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

LOW

Insiders 0.1%Institutions 80.7%Retail & Other 19.2%

No. of Institutional Holders3,354

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

BRENNEMAN GREGORY D

Director

$999,767

@ $346.66 · 2025-03-14

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

LOW

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

Total value (12M): $231,063

SIMKINS LAWRENCE

Director

$231,063

@ $231.06 · 2025-11-24

SIMKINS LAWRENCE

Director

$245,532

@ $245.53 · 2024-12-20

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $29.80M

DEATON JOHN A.

Officer

$661,617

@ $369.00 · 2026-03-04

MCPHAIL RICHARD V

Chief Financial Officer

$940,670

@ $368.89 · 2026-03-04

ROSEBOROUGH TERESA WYNN

General Counsel

$1.00M

@ $348.52 · 2025-12-26

BROWN ANGIE

Chief Technology Officer

$695,948

@ $357.63 · 2025-12-12

BASTEK WILLIAM D

Officer

$974,445

@ $423.12 · 2025-09-12

ROSEBOROUGH TERESA WYNN

General Counsel

$2.27M

@ $413.23 · 2025-08-22

BASTEK WILLIAM D

Officer

$1.55M

@ $410.23 · 2025-08-22

DECKER EDWARD P.

Chief Executive Officer

$13.07M

@ $397.22 · 2025-08-21

PADILLA HECTOR A

Officer

$640,609

@ $404.17 · 2025-08-20

BROWN ANGIE

Chief Technology Officer

$404,070

@ $404.07 · 2025-08-20

MCPHAIL RICHARD V

Chief Financial Officer

$1.36M

@ $403.66 · 2025-08-20

DEATON JOHN A.

Officer

$3.29M

@ $369.99 · 2025-06-03

ROSEBOROUGH TERESA WYNN

General Counsel

$2.00M

@ $369.28 · 2025-05-28

SIDDIQUI FAHIM

Chief Technology Officer

$954,564

@ $367.14 · 2025-05-22

BASTEK WILLIAM D

Officer

$1.24M

@ $416.61 · 2024-11-22

HOURIGAN TIMOTHY A

Officer

$6.55M

@ $409.52 · 2024-11-18

ROSEBOROUGH TERESA WYNN

General Counsel

$9.03M

@ $408.91 · 2024-11-14

CAMPBELL ANN-MARIE

Officer

$12.24M

@ $408.40 · 2024-11-14

PADILLA HECTOR A

Officer

$1.48M

@ $408.96 · 2024-11-14

MCPHAIL RICHARD V

Chief Financial Officer

$2.65M

@ $408.45 · 2024-11-13

SCARDINO KIMBERLY R.

Officer

$617,100

@ $363.00 · 2024-08-19

ROSEBOROUGH TERESA WYNN

General Counsel

$1.87M

@ $359.32 · 2024-08-15

CAREY MATTHEW A

Officer

$19.33M

@ $345.18 · 2024-05-16

SIDDIQUI FAHIM

Chief Technology Officer

$1.03M

@ $343.79 · 2024-05-16

PADILLA HECTOR A

Officer

$28,619

@ $349.01 · 2024-05-15

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

LOW

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $32.92M

VANCE QUONTA D

Officer

$2.67M

@ $257.54 · 2026-03-04

ELLISON MARVIN R

Chief Executive Officer

$4.70M

@ $261.17 · 2026-01-09

MCFARLAND JOSEPH MICHAEL III

Officer

$11.94M

@ $272.60 · 2025-09-11

SINK BRANDON J.

Chief Financial Officer

$2.20M

@ $268.58 · 2025-09-05

PRYOR JULIETTE WILLIAMS

Officer

$238,939

@ $257.20 · 2025-08-26

ELLISON MARVIN R

Chief Executive Officer

$10.56M

@ $264.10 · 2025-08-20

DUPRE JANICE M.

Officer

$350,039

@ $224.38 · 2025-06-10

PRYOR JULIETTE WILLIAMS

Officer

$257,077

@ $227.50 · 2025-06-03

VANCE QUONTA D

Officer

$1.97M

@ $274.37 · 2024-11-27

MCFARLAND JOSEPH MICHAEL III

Officer

$1.08M

@ $270.74 · 2024-10-03

GODBOLE SEEMANTINI P

Chief Technology Officer

$7.12M

@ $271.73 · 2024-10-03

VAGELL MARGRETHE R

Officer

$1.56M

@ $271.45 · 2024-10-02

GRIGGS DAN CLAYTON JR.

Officer

$1.68M

@ $248.82 · 2024-09-12

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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😨Fear(35/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

LOW

😨Fear(38/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (35)

LOW

⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (38)

View HD Full Analysis View LOW Full Analysis