HOME DEPOT, INC. vs LOWE’S COMPANIES, INC., two Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Read the capital structures and the family resemblance shows. Home Depot runs almost no leverage at 0.25 debt-to-equity, yet posts a 101% return on equity, which is less a sign of superior economics than of an equity base shrunk by years of buybacks; the 13% return on assets is the cleaner read on how the business actually performs. Lowe's does not report equity here, but its 12% on assets sits right alongside, and the two carry near-identical gross margins, 33% against 32.7%, and operating margins, 12% versus 11%. The market pays more for Home Depot, 23 times earnings to Lowe's 19, though Lowe's converts more price into free cash, a 6.2% yield to 4.4%, and Home Depot answers with the bigger dividend at 2.8% versus 2.15%. Same aisle, same margins, with the premium sitting on the larger name.
Comparison updated 2026-06-15.
| Metric | HD | LOW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $343.37 | $211.55 |
| Market cap | $342.0B | $118.5B |
| Sector | Retail | Retail |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +6.7% | — |
| P/E | 24.4 | 17.9 |
| P/B | 24.65 | — |
| P/S | 2.05 | 1.34 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.2 | 9.4 |
| Revenue growth | +2.2% | +6.5% |
| Gross margin | 33.0% | 32.7% |
| Operating margin | 11.9% | 11.1% |
| Net margin | 8.4% | 7.5% |
| Return on equity | 101.0% | — |
| Return on assets | 13.0% | 12.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 89.7% | — |
| FCF yield | 4.2% | 6.4% |
| Dividend yield | 2.7% | 2.3% |
| Debt / equity | 0.25 | — |
| Current ratio | 1.04 | 1.09 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.14 | 2.66 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.