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(Reuters) - Lowe's Cos forecast annual sales and profit below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, in signs that a recovery would take longer than expected as consumer spending on home-improvement projects remained under pressure.
Shares of the company were up 2% in volatile premarket trading as it reported a smaller-than-expected decline of 6.2% in fourth-quarter comparable sales.
Higher prices of essentials have squeezed household budgets across the U.S., prompting many to allocate fewer dollars to large-scale home remodeling and instead take up only necessary maintenance projects.
Lowe's downbeat forecast echoes the caution sounded by bigger rival Home Depot, which last week cited lingering headwinds in the home improvement market and its expectations for "a year of continued moderation."
Lowe's expects comparable sales to be down 2% to 3% in fiscal 2024, while analysts on average expect a 1.13% drop, according to LSEG data.
It projected annual earnings per share between $12.00 and $12.30, while analysts' on average expect $12.75.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
