MCO vs LOW Comparison

Moody's, along with S&P Ratings, is a leading provider of credit ratings on fixed-income securities. The ratings segment, Moody's Investors Service, includes corporates, structured finance, financial institutions, and public finance ratings. MIS represents a majority of the firm's profit and often (depending on bond issuance levels) a majority of the firm's revenue. The other segment, Moody's Analytics, consists of decision solutions, research and insights, and data and information.

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.