Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio showed a significant increase from 11.96 in early 2020 to a peak of 22.36 in early 2021, indicating heightened market expectations or improved earnings prospects at that time. Subsequently, it moderated to around 17.84 in early 2022 and has remained fairly stable, fluctuating slightly, settling at approximately 18.74 by early 2025. This pattern suggests a normalization following the initial surge, with investor valuation maintaining a moderately elevated level compared to early 2020.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio experienced growth from 8.11 in early 2020 to 13.52 in early 2021, reflecting increased market valuation relative to operating profit. It declined somewhat over the next years, reaching 11.18 in early 2023, but then recovered slightly by early 2024 and stabilized near 12.45 by early 2025. This indicates a general upward trend from the starting point, with some volatility, suggesting changing investor confidence or variations in operating profit margins.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

This ratio more than doubled from 0.71 in early 2020 to 1.56 by early 2022, showing a notable increase in market valuation relative to sales. Although it dipped to 1.17 in early 2023, it rebounded sharply to 1.68 in early 2024, before settling at 1.56 again in early 2025. The trend implies increasing investor willingness to pay for each dollar of sales with some short-term fluctuation, possibly reflecting sales growth, margin improvements, or market sentiment shifts.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio was considerably high at 25.96 in early 2020 and surged dramatically to 90.79 in early 2021, indicating a substantial premium over book value, which is unusual and may reflect extraordinary market conditions or accounting changes. Data for subsequent periods are not available, limiting further trend analysis for this ratio.

The financial data reveals several key trends regarding the share price, earnings per share (EPS), and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio over a six-year period.

Share Price

The share price experienced significant growth from $67.8 in early 2020 to a peak of $254 in early 2024. This represents a nearly fourfold increase over the five-year span. Following this peak, there was a slight decline to $232.89 in early 2025, indicating some market correction or profit-taking after the robust rise.

Earnings Per Share (EPS)

EPS demonstrated a strong upward trend from $5.67 in 2020 to $13.5 in 2024, more than doubling over five years. The data shows a minor dip in 2023 to $10.79 before increasing again in 2024. However, the EPS slightly decreased to $12.43 in 2025, mirroring the trend observed in the share price and suggesting a potential plateau or minor setback in earnings growth.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio fluctuated notably during the period. It nearly doubled from 11.96 in 2020 to 22.36 in 2021, indicating that the share price grew faster than earnings in that year. Subsequently, the P/E ratio declined to approximately 17.8 in 2022 and stabilized around 18.7 in the following years until 2025. This relative stability in the P/E ratio in the later years suggests a balancing between share price and earnings growth, reflecting market participants' consistent valuation of the company's earnings.

Overall, the data reflects a period of substantial growth in both share price and earnings from 2020 through 2024, followed by a modest correction or normalization in 2025. The P/E ratio’s initial rise and subsequent stabilization indicate periods of changing market sentiment and valuation, with the later years showing a more balanced relationship between price and earnings.

The analysis of the annual financial data shows notable trends in share price, operating profit per share, and the price-to-operating profit (P/OP) ratio over the six-year period.

Share Price (US$)

The share price exhibited significant growth from 67.8 in 2020 to a peak of 254 in 2024, representing a substantial increase in market value over the period. However, the share price showed some volatility, with a decline from the 2022 peak of 227.6 to 190.53 in 2023 before rising again in 2024, and a slight decrease to 232.89 in 2025.

Operating Profit per Share (US$)

Operating profit per share demonstrated a consistent upward trend from 8.36 in 2020 to 20.2 in 2024, nearly doubling in value, followed by a slight decline to 18.7 in 2025. This trend indicates improving operational efficiency and profitability over the evaluated years, with a minor setback in the latest period.

Price-to-Operating Profit Ratio (P/OP)

The P/OP ratio started at 8.11 in 2020 and rose sharply to 13.52 in 2021, reflecting a higher market valuation relative to operating profit. Subsequently, the ratio decreased in 2023 to 11.18, suggesting a more attractive valuation or relative improvement in operating profit compared to share price. The ratio then stabilized around 12.45 in 2022 and 2025, with a slight increase in 2024 to 12.58, implying market confidence remained generally steady in relation to earnings potential.

Overall, the data reflect robust growth in operating profit per share accompanied by significant share price appreciation, tempered by fluctuations in market valuation multiples. The slight decreases in both share price and operating profit per share in the most recent year may warrant monitoring to assess whether these represent temporary adjustments or the start of new trends.

Share Price

The share price exhibited a significant upward trend from 67.8 US$ in January 2020 to a peak of 254 US$ in February 2024. However, a slight decline to 232.89 US$ was observed in January 2025, indicating some volatility but overall growth over the six-year period.

Sales Per Share

Sales per share increased steadily from 95.57 US$ in January 2020 to 162.75 US$ in February 2023, reflecting consistent growth in revenue generated per share. Post-2023, there was a mild decline in sales per share, dropping to 150.96 US$ in February 2024 and slightly further to 149.5 US$ in January 2025, suggesting a potential plateau or slight decrease in sales momentum.

Price-to-Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio showed an overall upward trend from 0.71 in January 2020 to a high of 1.68 in February 2024, implying that the market valuation relative to sales has generally increased, reflecting stronger investor confidence or higher valuation multiples. A minor decrease to 1.56 occurred in January 2025, aligning with the observed dip in share price and stabilization in sales figures.

Summary of Trends

Across the period analyzed, both share price and sales per share demonstrated substantial growth initially, with the share price increasing more sharply. The P/S ratio's rise indicates that the market has been valuing the company increasingly higher relative to its sales, pointing to either improved profitability expectations, market sentiment, or strategic positioning. Slight declines in the latest year suggest a cautious outlook or market adjustment, warranting monitoring for potential changes in operational performance or external factors.

The share price of the company has demonstrated a general upward trend over the analyzed period, starting at $67.80 in early 2020 and reaching a peak of $254 in early 2024, before slightly declining to $232.89 in early 2025. This indicates a significant appreciation in market value over the five-year period, with some volatility observed between 2022 and 2023.

Conversely, the book value per share (BVPS) has shown a markedly negative trend. Initially positive at $2.61 in early 2020, the BVPS declined to $2.00 in early 2021, before turning negative at -$7.28 in early 2022. The negative values further deepened in subsequent years, reaching -$23.90 in early 2023, and continuing to decrease to -$26.30 and -$25.43 in early 2024 and 2025, respectively. This trend suggests a deterioration in the underlying net asset value on a per-share basis, which could be indicative of sustained losses, asset impairments, or other adverse financial factors impacting equity.

The Price-to-Book Value (P/BV) ratio was notably high in 2020 at 25.96 and escalated substantially to 90.79 by early 2021. Data for subsequent years is unavailable. The high P/BV ratios during the observed periods reflect the divergence between market valuation and book value, emphasizing that the market price was substantially higher than the book value per share, a status maintained even as the BVPS turned negative. This can imply market confidence exceeding the book value metrics, possibly driven by growth expectations or intangible asset valuations.

Share Price Trend

Appreciated significantly from $67.80 in 2020 to a peak of $254 in 2024, followed by a slight decline to $232.89 in 2025.

Book Value Per Share Trend

Declined from a positive $2.61 in 2020 to deeply negative values, stabilizing around -$25 to -$26 in the last three years.

Price-to-Book Value Ratio

Extremely high in 2020 and 2021, indicating strong market valuation despite negative and declining book value per share.

Insights

While market capitalization as reflected in share price increased, the deteriorating book value per share points to potential underlying financial challenges. The high P/BV ratio suggests market optimism or expectations not captured by book value figures.