CVS vs LOW Comparison

CVS Health offers a diverse set of healthcare services. Its roots are in its retail pharmacy operations, where it operates around 9,000 stores primarily in the US. CVS is also a large pharmacy benefit manager (acquired through Caremark), processing about 2 billion adjusted claims annually. It operates a top-tier health insurer (acquired through Aetna) through which it serves about 26 million medical members. The acquisition of Oak Street Health added primary care services to the mix, which could have significant synergies with all existing business lines.

Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with 1,759 stores in the US, after the 2023 divestiture of its Canadian locations. The firm's stores offer products and services for home decorating, maintenance, repair, and remodeling, with maintenance and repair accounting for two-thirds of products sold. Lowe's primarily targets retail do-it-yourself (around 70% of sales) and do-it-for-me customers, but has expanded its professional business clients to 30% from less than 20% in the past seven years (set to expand further with the acquisition of FBM). We estimate Lowe's captures a high-single-digit share of the domestic home improvement market, based on US Census data and management's market size estimates.