LOW vs MDT Comparison

Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with more than 1,750 stores in the US, after the 2023 divestiture of its Canadian locations (RONA, Lowe's Canada, Réno-Dépôt, and Dick's Lumber). 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 six years (set ot 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.

One of the largest medical-device companies, Medtronic develops and manufactures therapeutic medical devices for chronic diseases. Its portfolio includes pacemakers, defibrillators, transcatheter heart valves, stents, insulin pumps, spinal fixation devices, neurovascular products, advanced energy, ablation laser therapy, and surgical tools. The company primarily markets its products to healthcare institutions and physicians in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. Foreign sales account for roughly 50% of the company's total sales.