The home improvement retailer is bucking the trend of poor retail performance, releasing earnings and revenue Wednesday that was better than analysts were expecting. The stock is up 1.75% in the early hours of trading.
Why it matters: Lowes benefits from selling the type of products that are expensive to buy online, but is also reaping the rewards of a healthy housing market. Rising prices give homeowners access to home equity financing for renovation products, and they also create greater incentive to invest in the value of their homes.