There has never been a better time to be a pro customer at the two home improvement giants.
The housing market may remain sluggish, but you wouldn’t know it by the activities of Home Depot and Lowe’s, which continue to step up their efforts to address the contractor and builder market.
As each of the retailers posted modest financial results last month, both said the gains they are having are coming from their pro sectors. “This has been the most difficult housing market that I’ve faced in this business since the financial crisis,” Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s CEO (and a former Home Depot executive), said in announcing the company’s earnings in mid-May. “It’s almost exclusively or disproportionately on the DIY customer.” Ellison sees no change on the horizon. “We’re forecasting that Pro will continue to outperform DIY not only in the second half, but for the balance of the year.”
Depot president Ted Decker made similar comments when his company reported its results the day before Lowe’s. And while each said their current businesses are disappointing, they are sticking with full-year forecasts that are more encouraging.
And it’s coming from the Pro side, not from the do-it-yourselfer that is feeling stressed by pricing, high gas prices and the war in the Middle East. They may be doing small projects around their homes like replacing a faucet or painting the spare bedroom but the bigger jobs like new kitchens, flooring or exterior remodels are pretty much on hold.
It’s why the pro business is so important to these two giants. How important? Home Depot says while pro customers account for only somewhere between 3 and 10 percent of their total customer mix, they generate 50 to 55 percent of their total revenues. At Lowe’s, the numbers are not quite so off balance: it doesn’t provide a breakout of its customer base but says its pro business represents about 30 percent of total revenues. Each company has launched new customer services for its best customers, as well as buying building supply companies to serve builders and contractors better.
So, how did they do this past quarter? Home Depot said business was up in nine of its 16 merchandising categories, but that did not include lumber, flooring, building materials or millwork. Comparable average tickets were up 2.2 percent while the number of comparable transactions declined 1.3 percent.
“The underlying demand in our business was relatively similar to what we saw throughout fiscal 2025, despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure,” said Decker.
Lowe’s included millwork in the categories that did well but not any other wood-related products like lumber or flooring. Its comp average ticket was up 1.5 percent, but comp transactions were off 0.9 percent.
“While DIY demand remains under pressure, we’re continuing to grow market share in a challenging housing environment shaped by elevated interest rates, higher cost, and low housing turnover,” Ellison said.
Looking ahead, both retailers expect comp store stores in the flat to plus-2 percent range but Lowe’s is much more upbeat about total sales, forecasting an increase in the 7 percent to 9 percent range while Depot said it sees gains of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year.
