Lowe’s Cos Inc. said stronger sales, steady online gains with professional customers and expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) helped outperform a sluggish home improvement market in Q4 2025, even as profit declined from a year earlier amid acquisition costs and continued housing pressure.
The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer reported net earnings of $999 million for the quarter ending Jan. 30. That’s down 11.2% from $1.125 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share were $1.78, compared with $1.99 in the prior-year quarter.
Quarterly sales climbed 11.0% to $20.6 billion, up from $18.6 billion a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.3% in Q4, driven by growth in Pro customers, online shopping and home services, Lowe’s said.
Results included $149 million in costs tied to Lowe’s acquisitions of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) and Artisan Design Group (ADG). Excluding those costs, earnings per share increased 2.6% from a year earlier.
“We delivered strong results this quarter, as our Total Home strategy is resonating with both our Pro and DIY customers,” said Marvin Ellison, chairman, president and CEO, on the company’s quarterly earnings call. “Despite a challenging industry backdrop, our focus on productivity and execution allowed us to deliver growth across Pro, online and home services.”
Lowe’s said it paid $125 million in discretionary bonuses to frontline associates during the quarter.
For the full fiscal year, Lowe’s reported sales of $86.3 billion, up 3.1% from $83.7 billion a year earlier. Net earnings totaled $6.65 billion, down 4.4% from $6.96 billion in fiscal 2024.
Lowe’s ended the year with 1,759 stores, representing about 196 million square feet of selling space.
Lowe’s is No. 10 in the Top 2000 Database. The database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by annual ecommerce sales.
How Lowe’s used AI to grow online sales in Q4 2025
Executives spent much of the earnings call highlighting how Lowe’s has embedded AI across operations — from store floors to Pro sales teams to digital shopping.
Ellison said Lowe’s has deployed an AI-powered virtual assistant, Mylow Companion, to help both customers and store associates answer product questions and make recommendations. Lowe’s built the tool on OpenAI’s platform. The tool now manages about 1 million questions each month, he said.
“It learns and it gets better with every interaction,” Ellison said. “One of the biggest challenges in home improvement retail is giving new associates the confidence to engage customers with real product knowledge. This tool helps solve that.”
Ellison said the assistant is now available in Spanish and has driven measurable improvements. Stores that have adopted the tool are seeing customer service scores improve by 200 basis points. Meanwhile, online shoppers who engage with it are completing purchases at twice the rate of those who do not.
Lowe’s sales to Pros in Q4
Lowe’s is also extending AI into its Pro business. Stores executive vice president Joe McFarland said the company recently rolled out an AI-enabled Pro Companion. It helps Pro sales associates prepare for meetings with contractors by pulling together relevant customer history, product recommendations and job-specific information in advance.
“This allows our teams to walk into conversations already prepared,” McFarland said, calling it a way to improve both service and sales effectiveness.
Lowe’s executives also pointed to growing momentum behind the Pro Extended Aisle, a digital interface that connects store associates directly to suppliers’ catalogs for larger or more complex orders.
Ellison said the multiyear build-out is “exceeding expectations,” with new suppliers and markets being added throughout 2026. The company recently introduced a feature that allows Pro customers to stage job-site deliveries, receiving some materials immediately and scheduling the rest later.
“That replaces what was a time-consuming process with a single click,” McFarland said.
Lowe’s is also expanding AI behind the scenes to improve store operations. McFarland said the company has rolled out AI-enabled tools that identify out-of-stock items in real time and send stores prioritized lists of items to restock. That helps to improve product availability and frees associates to spend more time with customers.
New Lowe’s AI tools in 2026
Merchandising executive vice president Bill Boltz said Lowe’s plans to introduce new AI tools in 2026 that reduce routine work for merchants and guide store teams on where to focus based on sales trends.
Ellison said Lowe’s is also positioning itself for a future in which more shopping decisions are made through AI-driven tools rather than traditional search.
“As customers continue to integrate AI into their shopping habits, we are collaborating with leading digital platforms so that we are well positioned to participate in agentic commerce,” he said, describing it as a shift in where and how purchasing decisions begin.
For fiscal 2026, Lowe’s expects sales of $92 billion to $94 billion, with store sales ranging from flat to modest growth. The company plans to spend about $2.5 billion on investments tied to stores, technology and supply chain improvements.
Ellison said uncertainty remains around housing, interest rates and spending. He added that Lowe’s focus on Pro customers, ecommerce and AI-driven productivity should allow it to continue gaining share.
“Whatever the macro environment provides,” he said, “we expect to outperform it.”
Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Click here to read last quarter’s article on Lowe’s earnings and online sales.
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