SAN vs LOW Comparison

Santander's focus is on retail and commercial banking. Latin America is geographically the most significant operation, with Brazil making the largest contribution. Its continental European business is mainly in Spain and Portugal. Santander's UK presence is the result of its acquisition of Abbey building society. In the US, Santander operates a vehicle finance business and a regional bank focused on the Northeastern states.

Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer globally, with around 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.