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For a watchlist—not a buy recommendation—the latest company-reported results point to three distinct home-improvement exposures: The Home Depot and Lowe’s, which sell to DIY and professional customers, and Builders FirstSource, which supplies residential builders and repair-and-remodel work. The Home Depot reported stronger comparable-sales growth in fiscal Q2 2026, while Lowe’s posted a small comparable-sales increase and revised its full-year outlook. Builders FirstSource’s outlook highlighted weaker housing starts and repair-and-remodel activity in its markets. These operating signals do not establish which stock is attractively valued.
What the latest results show
The figures below are from company releases available as of October 3, 2026. The quarters are each company’s fiscal Q2 2026; they are not a synchronized stock-price or valuation comparison.
| Company | Fiscal Q2 2026 operating results | Outlook or demand signal |
|---|---|---|
| The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) | Sales of $47.9 billion, up $2.6 billion or 5.7% year over year. Comparable sales rose 1.7%; U.S. comparable sales rose 1.3%. Net earnings were $4.8 billion; diluted EPS was $4.79 and adjusted diluted EPS was $4.92. | Reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance. The release names housing and home-improvement conditions, credit, tariffs, labor and commodity prices among risks to results. |
| Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) | Sales of $26.0 billion versus $24.0 billion a year earlier; comparable sales rose 0.2%. Diluted EPS was $4.27, flat year over year; adjusted diluted EPS was $4.40. Online sales increased 15.7%. | Revised FY2026 outlook to $92.0 billion in sales, flat comparable sales and approximately $12.25 adjusted diluted EPS. Management cited Pro, home services and online growth alongside pressure in discretionary DIY spending. |
| Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR) | A building-products supplier, manufacturer and installer serving professional residential builders and repair-and-remodel activity; it is not a consumer-facing home-improvement retailer. | Company projections for its geographies: single-family starts down mid- to high-single digits, multifamily starts down mid-single digits and repair-and-remodel activity down 1%. |
Sources: The Home Depot’s August 18, 2026 fiscal Q2 results, Lowe’s August 19, 2026 fiscal Q2 results and Builders FirstSource’s fiscal Q2 2026 results and outlook.
Which home-improvement stocks should you watch?
The Home Depot: broad retail demand with positive comparable sales
The Home Depot’s 1.7% comparable-sales increase indicates growth at existing stores and comparable operations, while the 1.3% U.S. figure gives a more geographically focused measure. The 5.7% total-sales increase is a different measure and should not be treated as same-store growth. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance; the cited release does not make that outlook a guarantee. Its risks include housing and home-improvement market conditions, consumer and trade credit, tariffs, labor, commodity prices, and anticipated benefits from SRS and GMS.
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Source: The Home Depot’s fiscal Q2 2026 release.
Lowe’s: modest comps, with strength in Pro, services and online
Lowe’s reported a 0.2% comparable-sales increase despite ongoing pressure in discretionary DIY spending. The company said growth in professional customers, home services and online sales helped offset that pressure. CEO Marvin R. Ellison described it as the company’s fifth consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales, led by those channels. The revised FY2026 outlook—$92.0 billion in sales, flat comps and approximately $12.25 in adjusted diluted EPS—is management’s forecast, reflecting first-half results and current demand trends, rather than a realized full-year result.
Source: Lowe’s fiscal Q2 2026 release.
Builders FirstSource: a more direct housing-activity exposure
Builders FirstSource supplies, manufactures and installs products for professional residential builders and also serves repair-and-remodel activity. Its outlook for weaker starts and repair-and-remodel activity in its own geographies makes housing activity especially relevant to its watchlist case. Those figures are company projections, not final industry results. The company identifies economic conditions, inflation, interest rates, home size and affordability, consumer confidence, labor and supply availability, tariffs, duties, and lumber and other commodity prices as factors that can affect results.
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Source: Builders FirstSource’s fiscal Q2 2026 release.
How to compare the stocks responsibly
Start with what each business sells and who its customers are: DIY and Pro retail at The Home Depot and Lowe’s versus professional construction and repair-and-remodel supply at Builders FirstSource. Then compare like with like across the same reporting period. Relevant measures include comparable-sales direction, total sales and earnings trends, management guidance, margins, cash generation, balance-sheet flexibility and valuation.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The operating releases cited here do not provide an October 3 closing price, current valuation multiples or a peer valuation table. Sales growth alone cannot show whether a share price is attractive, and these results do not support naming one company the most promising. A valuation comparison would require dated market prices and a consistent method.
What could move the outlook
These businesses share exposure to home improvement and housing, but their results can respond differently to changes in DIY spending, professional customer activity, housing starts and remodeling. Affordability, interest rates, labor and supply availability, tariffs, and lumber or other commodity costs may also matter. Lowe’s specifically reported continued pressure in discretionary DIY spending; Builders FirstSource’s company outlook projected declines in several housing and repair-and-remodel measures for its geographies. Company guidance and forward-looking statements are uncertain and may change.
Rank #4
Next reported milestones
As of October 3, 2026, The Home Depot’s investor calendar listed November 17, 2026, for fiscal Q3 results. Lowe’s investor page listed its Q3 earnings call tentatively for November 18, 2026. These were future dates at the time, and Lowe’s date was explicitly tentative; check the companies’ investor pages for any changes and for results after those dates.
Sources: The Home Depot investor events calendar and Lowe’s investor relations page.
Best Value
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This is general information based on company-reported results and outlook available as of October 3, 2026, not individualized investment advice.
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