Diamonds and Dogs

5/23/18

A sluggish first quarter not bothering Lowes (LOW) shareholders. Lowes is jumping 10% following a miss on earnings as sales rose just 3% to $17.36 billion. Similar to Home Depot, miserable spring weather has delayed sales for the current quarter. Lowes is getting a new CEO from JCPenney who also used to work for Home Depot. An interesting stat, Home Depot has just 6% more stores but generates 47% more sales than Lowes. Lowes also trades for a lower multiple so there is plenty of room to grow. Lets just hope the CEO does better than he did at JCPenney.

Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) not so yummy. The restaurateur is down 17% not far from a 52 week low following disappointing earnings and disappointing guidance. Revenues rose just 0.2% to $421.5 million below guidance. A large part of the company's shortcomings are a result of increased cost of sales, restaurant operating expenses, and occupancy costs. The company is taking steps to improve sales and traffic trends while continuing to make strides on productivity. Personally, my family thinks the fries are not great and it takes too long to get the food.