LOW vs SHW
Lowes Companies Inc. and Sherwin Williams Co., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | LOW | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $86.3B | $23.6B |
| Net income | $6.7B | $2.6B |
| Gross margin | 33.5% | 48.8% |
| Net margin | 7.7% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | · | 59.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $11.85 | $10.26 |
| Dividend / share | $4.75 | $3.16 |
| Payout ratio | 39.6% | 30.7% |
| Free cash flow | $7.7B | $2.7B |
| Equity | $-9.9B | $4.6B |
| Net debt / equity | · | 2.06× |
| Current ratio | 1.08× | 0.87× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | −0.8% | 5.1% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 2.7% | 4.8% |
LOW bills 3.7× the revenue of SHW, and SHW keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (10.9% against 7.7%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | LOW | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $86.3B | $23.6B |
| FY2024 | $83.7B | $23.1B |
| FY2023 | $86.4B | $23.1B |
| FY2022 | $97.1B | $22.1B |
| FY2021 | $96.2B | $19.9B |
| FY2020 | $89.6B | $18.4B |
| FY2019 | $72.1B | $17.9B |
| FY2018 | $71.3B | $17.5B |
| FY2017 | $68.6B | $15.0B |
| FY2016 | $65.0B | $11.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | LOW | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $6.7B | $2.6B |
| FY2024 | $7.0B | $2.7B |
| FY2023 | $7.7B | $2.4B |
| FY2022 | $6.4B | $2.0B |
| FY2021 | $8.4B | $1.9B |
| FY2020 | $5.8B | $2.0B |
| FY2019 | $4.3B | $1.5B |
| FY2018 | $2.3B | $1.1B |
| FY2017 | $3.4B | $1.7B |
| FY2016 | $3.1B | $1.1B |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$62,711,700,000 | LOW |
| FY2024 | +$60,575,500,000 | LOW |
| FY2023 | +$63,325,100,000 | LOW |
| FY2022 | +$74,910,100,000 | LOW |
| FY2021 | +$76,305,400,000 | LOW |
| FY2020 | +$71,235,300,000 | LOW |
| FY2019 | +$54,247,200,000 | LOW |
| FY2018 | +$53,774,500,000 | LOW |
| FY2017 | +$53,635,200,000 | LOW |
| FY2016 | +$53,161,398,000 | LOW |
| FY2015 | +$47,735,000,000 | LOW |
| FY2014 | +$45,093,000,000 | LOW |
| FY2013 | +$43,231,000,000 | LOW |
| FY2012 | +$40,987,000,000 | LOW |
| FY2011 | +$41,442,000,000 | LOW |
| FY2010 | +$41,038,576,000 | LOW |
| FY2009 | +$40,125,751,000 | LOW |
| FY2008 | +$40,250,273,000 | LOW |
| FY2007 | +$40,277,708,000 | LOW |
LOW has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 19 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −3.2 pp | SHW |
| FY2024 | −3.3 pp | SHW |
| FY2023 | −1.4 pp | SHW |
| FY2022 | −2.5 pp | SHW |
| FY2021 | −0.6 pp | SHW |
| FY2020 | −4.5 pp | SHW |
| FY2019 | −2.7 pp | SHW |
| FY2018 | −3.1 pp | SHW |
| FY2017 | −6.5 pp | SHW |
| FY2016 | −4.8 pp | SHW |
| FY2015 | −5.0 pp | SHW |
| FY2014 | −3.0 pp | SHW |
| FY2013 | −3.1 pp | SHW |
| FY2012 | −2.7 pp | SHW |
| FY2011 | −1.4 pp | SHW |
| FY2010 | −1.8 pp | SHW |
| FY2009 | −2.4 pp | SHW |
| FY2008 | −1.4 pp | SHW |
| FY2007 | −1.9 pp | SHW |
SHW has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 19 fiscal years.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
SHW's net margin has been more volatile than LOW's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 2.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 1.8.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
SHW led in net margin in every one of the 19 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
LOW's return on equity has been more volatile than SHW's over the 14 comparable fiscal years — 87.1 percentage points of standard deviation against 24.0.
14 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between LOW and SHW over these 14 fiscal years — LOW led in 3 and SHW in 11.
14 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.