LOW vs WM Comparison

Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with 1,761 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 (more than 60% of sales) and do-it-for-me customers, but has expanded its professional business clients to more than 30% from less than 20% in the past seven years (set to expand further with growth of FBM locations). 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.

WM, previously known as Waste Management, ranks as the largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste services in the United States, operating 257 active landfill sites and about 342 transfer stations that help with transporting waste efficiently and economically. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and medical end markets for waste collection, transfer, and disposal. The company also has an energy business emanating from the beneficial use of landfill gas and is a leading recycler in North America.