As of October 3, 2026, Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) offer the clearest retail read on home-improvement demand, while Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR) provides a more direct link to professional homebuilding and remodeling. Their latest reported results show modest comparable-sales growth at the retailers, but they do not establish which stock is attractively valued or a buy.
The comparison below uses company-reported fiscal Q2 2026 results and management outlooks. It is a watchlist, not a ranking: the figures are not a synchronized share-price or valuation screen.
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What the latest results say
Home Depot and Lowe’s both reported positive comparable sales in fiscal Q2 2026, though the increases were modest. Their sales and earnings figures are not directly comparable measures of business momentum by themselves; customer mix, store footprint, acquisitions and other factors differ.
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|---|---|---|
| The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) | Sales of $47.9 billion, up $2.6 billion, or 5.7%, year over year. Comparable sales increased 1.7%; U.S. comparable sales increased 1.3%. Net earnings were $4.8 billion. Diluted EPS was $4.79; adjusted diluted EPS was $4.92. Home Depot, August 18, 2026. | Reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance. The release cites housing and home-improvement conditions, credit, tariffs, labor and commodity prices among risks to results. Company release. |
| Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) | Sales of $26.0 billion versus $24.0 billion a year earlier; comparable sales increased 0.2%. Diluted EPS was $4.27, flat year over year; adjusted diluted EPS was $4.40. Online sales increased 15.7%. Lowe’s, August 19, 2026. | Management raised its fiscal 2026 outlook to $92.0 billion in sales, flat comparable sales and approximately $12.25 adjusted diluted EPS. These are forecasts, not reported results. The company cited Pro, home services and online performance alongside continued pressure in discretionary DIY spending. Company release. |
| Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR) | Fiscal Q2 revenue and earnings figures: not stated in the cited outlook evidence. | Supplies, manufactures and installs products for professional residential builders and repair/remodel work. Its outlook projected single-family starts in its geographies down mid- to high-single digits, multifamily starts down mid-single digits, and repair/remodel activity down 1%. These are company projections, not final industry results. Builders FirstSource, Q2 2026 release. |
Which home improvement stocks should you watch?
Home Depot: broad retail demand with modest comp growth
Home Depot’s Q2 sales rose 5.7% year over year, but comparable sales—a measure that helps isolate performance at comparable stores—grew 1.7%, with U.S. comps up 1.3%. That combination is useful to track: total sales growth was stronger than the comparable-sales increase, so the sales headline alone does not describe underlying store demand. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance in its August 18 release; investors assessing the outlook should consult the release for its assumptions and risk disclosures.
#1 Best Overall
Lowe’s: positive comps amid DIY pressure
Lowe’s recorded a 0.2% comparable-sales increase. Management said Pro, home services and online sales growth helped offset pressure in discretionary DIY spending. Its CEO described this as the company’s fifth consecutive quarter of positive comp sales, while acknowledging that DIY weakness remained. The 15.7% online-sales increase is a channel-specific result, not a measure of total company growth.
The revised fiscal-year outlook—$92.0 billion in sales, flat comps and approximately $12.25 adjusted diluted EPS—gives a forward-looking reference point. It reflects management’s view based on first-half results and current demand trends; it is not a guarantee or an actual full-year result.
Rank #2
Builders FirstSource: more direct exposure to housing activity
Builders FirstSource is not a consumer-facing home-improvement retailer. It supplies and installs materials for professional residential construction and repair/remodel work, so its results are more directly exposed to building activity. Its projected declines in starts and repair/remodel activity reflect management’s expectations for its own geographies, not a final national tally or a realized result. The company also identifies interest rates, affordability, labor and supply availability, tariffs, duties and lumber and other commodity prices as factors that can affect performance.
How to compare the businesses before adding a stock to a watchlist
- Start with customer and project mix. Home Depot and Lowe’s sell to DIY customers and professionals through retail operations; Builders FirstSource supplies, manufactures and installs for professional builders and repair/remodel work. Their exposure to consumer spending and housing starts therefore differs.
- Track comparable sales and total sales together. Comparable sales help reveal demand at comparable locations, while total sales also reflect factors such as footprint and business changes. Do not treat either metric alone as a complete verdict.
- Separate reported results from forecasts. Q2 sales, comps and EPS are past-quarter figures. Fiscal-year guidance and projected housing activity are management expectations that may change.
- Check margins, cash generation and balance-sheet flexibility. The Q2 figures above do not provide a complete view of those measures. Use each company’s filings and apply the same period and definitions when comparing them.
- Use a consistent, dated valuation comparison. Operating growth does not establish that a share is cheap. This evidence does not include October 3 closing prices, current valuation multiples or a peer valuation table, so it cannot support a relative valuation conclusion or price target.
What could change the outlook?
Home-improvement businesses are sensitive to more than current-quarter sales. The companies’ disclosures point to factors including housing and remodeling demand, consumer and trade credit, interest rates, home affordability, labor and product availability, tariffs and commodity costs. A shift in any of these can affect demand, costs or the pace of construction. Lowe’s Q2 commentary, for example, distinguished stronger Pro, home-services and online performance from ongoing discretionary DIY pressure; those channels need not move together.
Company forecasts should be read within those uncertainties. Builders FirstSource’s projected activity declines refer to its operating geographies, while Lowe’s updated outlook reflects management’s current demand assessment. Neither is an independently established forecast for the entire home-improvement sector.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Upcoming results to monitor
As listed on the companies’ investor pages as of October 3, 2026, Home Depot scheduled its Q3 2026 results for November 17, 2026, and Lowe’s listed its Q3 earnings call tentatively for November 18, 2026. The Lowe’s date was tentative; check both investor calendars for any changes and for the actual results after release. Home Depot investor calendar; Lowe’s investor page.
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