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Lowe's Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations

Lowe’s home improvement earned 10 percent less from May to August than it did last year. The Mooresville-based company now says it won’t make as much money this year as it had previously estimated.

Lowe’s earnings fell short of its own expectations and Wall Street analysts’.

The nation’s second-largest home improvement chain has been restructuring. A big part of that is making it easier for customers to shop online, on mobile devices and in the stores. CEO Robert Niblock said on a conference call with investors the company is making progress on those initiatives.

"But frankly, the benefits are accruing at a slower ran than I had expected," Niblock said. "It will likely be mid 2013 before we fully complete this phase of our transformation."

Niblock said his company is no longer expecting sales to increase this year.

Lowe’s main competitor, Home Depot, reported last week its earnings are up 12 percent from a year ago. Home Depot also said it’ll make even more money this year than it had previously projected.

One of the things Lowe’s is considering to boost its bottom line is an acquisition. Niblock said his company may take a second shot at buying Rona, Canada’s largest home improvement chain. It rejected Lowe’s first offer last month.