What Did You Buy Today?

[fenders53]

JNJ and MRK

[saimash]

Purchased 250 shares of ET @ 14.956

[divmenow]

Added to HD today. They are clearly killing Lowe's in that space.

[vbin]

LOW is taking a a beating today.

[DividendGarden]

added to PSX today.

[DividendGarden]

Added to ABBV also.

[fenders53]

It's all the high end door and windows sales I've been poaching from my HD millwork desk every week. OK, maybe not lol. I didn't actually think LOW earnings were out of line. Same store comps were fine. Their 2019 earnings projections were a surprise though. You can't just cut 8 or 10% when HD isn't. They are either planning to invest considerably right now, or they sandbagged to be safe. LOW is gonna be a buy after the brokerage downgrades come in soon. Don't forget LOW CEO was a rock star at HD not so long ago. IMO he'll right the ship soon if the economy cooperates.

[vbin]

(05-22-2019, 08:34 PM)fenders53 Wrote: It's all the high end door and windows sales I've been poaching from my HD millwork desk every week. OK, maybe not lol. I didn't actually think LOW earnings were out of line. Same store comps were fine. Their 2019 earnings projections were a surprise though. You can't just cut 8 or 10% when HD isn't. They are either planning to invest considerably right now, or they sandbagged to be safe. LOW is gonna be a buy after the brokerage downgrades come in soon. Don't forget LOW CEO was a rock star at HD not so long ago. IMO he'll right the ship soon if the economy cooperates.

I have a itchy finger at the moment to buy LOW but literally every homeowner or contractor I know goes to HD. I shouldn't be judging a business based on behavior from a small group of users concentrated in a single area but like someone mentioned above HD have been kicking LOW in this segment.

I also believe they both will suffer a bit going forward, RE markets are starting to show signs of fatigue.

[fenders53]

I am at HD 45 hrs a week, and spent plenty of time at Lowes as a customer for my home and my rental house. I DIY everything. From my viewpoint, the differences in execution are quite glaring, but so easily fixed. Ellison will get it done. My biggest fear is the quest for same store sales growth. You can only do so much with the XXX sq footage and we are pushing the limit. See and post my HD thread if you like. I called earning this quarter, right down to the horrible FEB when HD compo was -5%. I knew it was coming and they could possibly blow away earning. My HD store is crazy efficient, but they take good care of employees and we are mostly happy even though retail work sucks bad if you let it. Thank God this is only my retirement gig. LOW needs to figure out the corporate culture. If we go all month without killing anybody with a forklift and meet our sales goal, we are rewarded somehow.

When I was leaving tonight at 7PM I saw the store manager arriving, again. He already worked a full shift earlier today. Asked him what was up. His response... "corporate made me cut staff from the night time freight receiving team. They are working so hard and you know they just can't keep up. I am going to BBQ them some steaks and potatoes for their break tonight, I owe them that". IMO this mindset might be part of the reason we have so many employees with 10+ years service. Maybe all retail managers do this? Somehow I doubt it. Mr Ellison now with Lowe's knows what's going on. This anectodotal tale might sound silly, but I have been watching it work for 8 months. 5th largest employer in the US for a reason.

[stockguru]

Let’s not forget Ellison drove JCP into the ground. I don’t trust him! Which is why I won’t own LOW. LOW has also lost a ton of contractors to HD.

[fenders53]

JCP has been in a death spiral for 15 years with Sears. Not sure anybody was saving either of them with the death of malls. I don't pretend to know who started it though. I'll research it before I jump into LOW. I watch with great interest. LOW is trying to recover from a low point and the stock has outperformed HD by a margin the past few years. Their goal should be easy for now. It was working well enough until the 2019 projection today.

The internet ordering got serious at HD finally. If a customer asks for something we don't stock we are immediately taking them to a computer to order it on the spot with free store delivery for big stuff they can't ship directly to home for free. They could just do it without me but it is pretty easy to help them spend $1K a week and I am just one guy. It all counts the same whether we stock it or not. A lot of older people are pleased they don't have to bother with the internet. I don't witness that happening at Wal-Mart.

[vbin]

Added XOM