Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

The financial ratios over the presented periods exhibit varying trends, reflecting shifts in valuation metrics and market expectations.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio begins to be reported from January 31, 2020, with an initial value of 11.96, then increases sharply to a peak of 22.5 in October 2020. A downward trend follows through early 2022, reaching a low point near 14.78 in April 2022. Subsequently, the ratio exhibits moderate fluctuations between approximately 15 and 22, with some volatility but no clear upward or downward trend through May 2024.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

Starting at 8.11 in January 2020, the P/OP ratio rises markedly to 15.21 by October 2020. After a brief decline, the measure generally oscillates between 10 and 15 in the following years, demonstrating periods of relative stability interspersed with some increases. Notably, there is a dip to 9.93 in February 2024, suggesting a momentary adjustment before a resumption of higher levels.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio follows an increasing trend from 0.71 in January 2020, peaking at 1.79 in October 2021. Afterward, the ratio decreases somewhat, fluctuating between 1.17 and 1.68 across subsequent quarters. The data suggests an overall elevation in market valuation relative to sales over the measured period, albeit with moderate volatility in the latter stages.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio shows substantial volatility early on, starting at 22.7 in May 2019 and rising sharply to 307.81 by January 2021. This indicates extreme market valuation relative to book value at that time. However, data is missing after this point, preventing analysis of subsequent developments or trend continuation.

In summary, the valuation multiples indicate a marked increase in market valuation relative to earnings, operating profit, and sales from early 2020 to late 2020, followed by periods of correction and stabilization. The exceptionally high and variable P/BV ratio early in the series suggests unusual or transient market conditions affecting book value assessment. The data highlights notable volatility around the 2020 period, possibly reflecting broader market or company-specific events, with ratios settled to more moderate levels thereafter.

Share Price Trends

The share price exhibited significant volatility across the observed periods. Initially, from May 2019 to November 2019, the price increased moderately from $93.84 to $115.46. A sharp decline occurred in January 2020, dropping to $67.80. Subsequently, a strong upward trend is noted, peaking at $252.63 in October 2021. After this peak, the price experienced a general downward correction, falling to around $195-$210 range by mid-2022. From early 2023 onward, fluctuations continued with prices moving between $190 and $273, indicating a somewhat unstable but relatively high valuation compared to the early periods.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) Trends

EPS data begins to appear in May 2020, showing a consistent upward progression from $5.67 to a peak of $13.58 in October 2022. Following this peak, EPS values demonstrate a mild decline and stabilization, fluctuating between approximately $10.47 and $13.5 up to mid-2024, before slightly tapering off near $12.21 in May 2025. Across the available data, the overall trend in earnings signals solid growth with some deceleration in the most recent quarters.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Trends

The P/E ratio, starting from May 2020, initially rose sharply from 11.96 to above 22 by October 2020, indicating increasing market valuation relative to earnings. Following this, the ratio oscillated between roughly 14.78 and 22.51, with intermittent peaks aligning to periods of rising share prices and EPS stability. The P/E saw notable dips near mid-2022, possibly reflecting increased earnings or share price adjustments. Overall, the ratio suggests that the market has valued the company's shares at a moderately high premium over earnings, with cycles of expansion and contraction in valuation multiples.

Summary and Insights

The data reveals a company experiencing substantial share price growth and EPS improvement over multiple years, despite periods of volatility. The early 2020 drop in share price contrasts with the steady growth in earnings since mid-2020, suggesting external market or economic factors influenced valuation before fundamentals strengthened. The P/E ratio reflects market sentiment shifts, with valuation metrics moving in tandem with earnings trends and price volatility. Recently, EPS has shown signs of plateauing, while share price volatility persists, indicating caution in market expectations or external impacts affecting investor confidence.

Share Price Trends

The share price exhibited considerable volatility across the analyzed periods. Initially, it increased from $93.84 in May 2019 to a peak of $115.46 in November 2019, before dropping sharply to $67.80 by January 2020. Subsequently, there was a strong recovery and growth phase, with the share price climbing to $252.63 by October 2021. After this peak, a downward correction followed, reducing the share price to $190.53 by February 2023. The price then recovered again, reaching $273.19 by November 2024, before a slight decline to $224.93 at the final observation point in May 2025.

Operating Profit Per Share (OPPS)

Operating profit per share data became available starting January 2020 at $8.36 and showed a general upward trend. It rose steadily to $19.61 by October 2022, indicating growing operational profitability. Afterwards, OPPS fluctuated slightly, with minor declines and recoveries, reaching $18.39 in May 2025. Overall, the trend reflects a strong increase in operating efficiency or profitability per share over the period analyzed.

Price to Operating Profit Ratio (P/OP)

The P/OP ratio, available from January 2020 onward, displayed significant fluctuation. Early data show an increase from 8.11 to a range around 14, peaking at 15.21 in October 2020, suggesting periods where the share price was high relative to operating profits. Subsequently, it generally declined, reaching a low of 9.93 in February 2024, before oscillating between 11 and 15 towards the end of the period. The variability in this ratio indicates changing market expectations or investor sentiment in relation to the profitability metric.

Correlation and Insights

The share price movements broadly correspond to changes in operating profit per share, particularly during strong growth phases between early 2020 and late 2021. The elevated P/OP ratios during some intervals may reflect market optimism or overvaluation relative to profits. The subsequent reductions in both the share price and P/OP ratio toward 2023 suggest a market reassessment or normalization of valuation. The resumption of share price growth towards late 2024 despite relatively stable OPPS implies potential anticipation of future growth or external market factors influencing valuation.

Share Price Trend

The share price exhibited significant volatility over the period analyzed. Starting around US$93.84 in early 2019, it experienced a notable decline to a low point of US$67.8 in early 2020. Subsequently, a strong recovery ensued, with the price rising sharply to reach a peak exceeding US$250 by late 2021. Following this peak, the share price displayed fluctuations, generally maintaining values above US$190, with intermittent increases and decreases through mid-2024. Overall, the price trend reflects sharp recovery and growth after an initial dip, with periods of consolidation after the peak.

Sales Per Share Evolution

Sales per share data commenced from early 2020, showing a steady upward trajectory up to early 2023. The sales per share increased consistently from approximately US$95.57 to about US$163.4 by February 2023. After this sustained growth phase, a gradual decline became apparent, with sales per share decreasing to around US$148.53 by mid-2025. This pattern indicates initial growth in revenue generation capacity on a per-share basis, followed by a period of slight contraction or stabilization.

Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S) Movements

The P/S ratio demonstrated substantial fluctuations aligned with share price and sales performance. Starting at 0.71 in early 2020, the ratio increased sharply to a peak of 1.84 by late 2024. This suggests that share prices were appreciating faster than sales growth during much of the period. Periods of decline in the P/S ratio, such as after early 2021 and post-late 2024, indicate either share price corrections or relatively stronger sales performance. The P/S ratio remained above 1.0 throughout most of the timeline from mid-2020 onward, reflecting market valuations that viewed shares as trading at premiums relative to sales per share.

Overall Insights

The data reflects a company undergoing phases of market price adjustments, strong sales growth, and subsequent stabilization. The early 2020 dip likely corresponds with market-wide disruptions. The subsequent recovery and price appreciation suggest improved market sentiment and operational performance. Sales per share growth indicates effective revenue expansion until early 2023, after which a mild decline points to possible market saturation or competitive pressures. The P/S ratio trends reflect investor expectations and valuations that have fluctuated, but generally remained optimistic relative to sales, indicating confidence in future profitability or growth prospects despite recent moderation in sales growth.

Share Price Trend

The share price exhibits notable volatility over the observed periods. Initially, it rose from $93.84 in early May 2019 to a peak of $252.63 by October 2021. After this peak, the share price experienced fluctuations, declining to $190.53 by February 2023, before recovering again to $273.19 in November 2024. The latest data shows a slight decrease to $224.93 by May 2025. Overall, the share price trend indicates strong growth with periods of correction and recovery.

Book Value Per Share (BVPS) Trend

The BVPS presents a contrasting trend compared to the share price. It started at $4.13 in May 2019 and then progressively declined, turning negative after July 2021. The lowest value observed was -$26.34 in February 2024, followed by minor fluctuations but remaining negative through May 2025 at -$23.65. This persistent negative BVPS suggests issues with the company's net asset value per share over the mid to longer term.

Price-to-Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio was relatively high throughout but demonstrated extreme volatility. It started at 22.7 in May 2019, peaking sharply to 307.81 in January 2021, corresponding with the decline and eventual negative BVPS values. The absence of data following January 2021 likely reflects complications in calculating a meaningful P/BV ratio once the book value turned negative. The elevated ratio indicates market valuation significantly exceeding book value, likely driven by investor expectations despite deteriorating book values.

Overall Insights

The data reveals a company with a strong share price appreciation alongside a deteriorating book value per share, resulting in exceptionally high and unstable P/BV ratios until the information cutoff in early 2021. This divergence could imply that investors are valuing the company based on future growth potential or other intangible factors rather than current net asset value. The negative and declining BVPS post-2021 may warrant further scrutiny of the company's financial health and asset management. The share price recovery observed after early 2023 suggests renewed investor confidence despite lingering concerns from the deteriorated book value.