Lowe's profit tops estimates; trims sales guidance

Lowe's delivered second-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations, but the retailer trimmed its outlook for full-year sales growth.

Lowe's shares sank in premarket trading following the report. (Click here to get the latest quotes.)

The home improvement giant posted quarterly earnings of $1.04 per share, versus 88 cents per share in the comparable year-ago period. It posted revenue of $16.6 billion, compared to $15.71 billion a year ago.

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Analysts had expected Lowe's to report earnings per share of $1.02 per share on $16.55 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Second-quarter same-store sales were up 4.4 percent, the company said, however the company trimmed its outlook for full-year sales to an increase of about 3.5 percent from a rise of 4 percent.

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"We were able to recover most of the outdoor product sales missed in the first quarter due to unfavorable weather conditions," Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president, and CEO said in a statement. "We believe home improvement spending will continue to progress in tandem with strengthening job and income growth."

The retail sector overall has been hit by a rash of mediocre earnings, and analysts are watching to see if North Carolina-based Lowe's defies or confirms the trend. This is especially true given mounting questions surrounding the housing recovery, which traditionally spills over into the results of home builders and retailers.

—By CNBC