Lowe’s Companies Stock Shares $56 Bil Success With Investors
In the last five years, Lowe’s Companies (LOW) stock has returned a notable $56 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.
As it turns out, LOW stock has returned the 30th highest amount to shareholders in history.
| LOW | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | $14 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Share Repurchase | $43 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Total Returned | $56 Bil | $6.0 Bil |
| Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap | 42.6% | 18.7% |
Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more stocks like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.
Top 10 Stocks By Total Shareholder Return
| Total Money Returned | As % Of Current Market Cap | via Dividends | via Share Repurchases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $604 Bil | 16.1% | $89 Bil | $515 Bil |
| GOOGL | $328 Bil | 9.4% | $17 Bil | $310 Bil |
| MSFT | $265 Bil | 9.6% | $121 Bil | $144 Bil |
| JPM | $197 Bil | 24.4% | $84 Bil | $113 Bil |
| XOM | $167 Bil | 23.2% | $94 Bil | $73 Bil |
| META | $165 Bil | 11.4% | $10 Bil | $155 Bil |
| BAC | $140 Bil | 39.1% | $53 Bil | $88 Bil |
| CVX | $123 Bil | 29.9% | $67 Bil | $57 Bil |
| WFC | $116 Bil | 47.0% | $27 Bil | $90 Bil |
| V | $99 Bil | 17.1% | $22 Bil | $77 Bil |
For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Stocks like Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for LOW. (see Buy or Sell Lowe’s Companies Stock for more details)
Lowe’s Companies Fundamentals
- Revenue Growth: 3.1% LTM and -3.7% last 3-year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 8.9% free cash flow margin and 11.8% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for LOW was -11.0%.
- Valuation: Lowe’s Companies stock trades at a P/E multiple of 19.8
| LOW | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary | – |
| Industry | Home Improvement Retail | – |
| PE Ratio | 19.8 | 23.7 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 3.1% | 6.7% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | -3.7% | 5.5% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | -11.0% | 0.4% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 11.8% | 18.7% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 12.6% | 18.2% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 8.9% | 14.3% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
The table gives a good overview of what you get from LOW stock, but what about the risk?
LOW Historical Risk
Low isn’t immune to big drops. It plunged about 42% during the Dot-Com bubble and nearly 61% in the Global Financial Crisis. The Covid sell-off hit it by almost 49%, while the 2018 correction and inflation shock pulled it down around 26% and 34%, respectively. Even with solid fundamentals, these dips show that risk sticks around when markets turn sour.
But the risk is not limited to major market crashes. Stocks fall even when markets are good – think events like earnings, business updates, and outlook changes. Read LOW Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has recovered from sharp dips in the past.
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