Home Depot Shows Lowe’s Who’s Boss

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) put in a valiant effort last quarter, and its earnings surpassed expectations, but Home Depot (NYSE:HD) continued a now 15 consecutive quarter tradition of outperforming its home improvement rival, and posted a still higher profit for the last quarter.

Net earnings rose to $1.02 billion, or $0.68 per share. This represents an increase of 32 percent, up from $774 million a year earlier.

Both Lowe’s and the Home Depot cited a stronger housing market, rising home values (which are encouraging people to invest more in remodeling), and the dire need for equipment and supplies following Hurricane Sandy, which wreaked havoc on large portions of the east coast last October.