Lowe's Reports Higher Income, Sales

Mooresville, NC, Aug. 20, 2014 -- Home improvement retailer Lowe's reported net earnings of $1.04 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 1, a 10.4% increase over the same period a year ago.

Earnings per share increased 18.2% to $1.04 from $0.88 in the second quarter of 2013 as the company repurchased $1.1 billion of stock.

Sales for the second quarter increased 5.7% to $16.6 billion from $15.7 billion in the second quarter of 2013.

Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 4.4%.

"We believe home improvement spending will continue to progress in tandem with strengthening job and income growth," said CEO Robert A. Niblock.

As of Aug. 1, Lowe's operated 1,837 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico, representing 200.8 million square feet of retail selling space.