Lowe's Sales Miss Analyst Estimates

Lowe's reported weaker-than-expected sales in the second quarter as home owners put off big renovations in an anemic U.S. economy. Sales at the second-largest home improvement chain loading... [LOW Loading... () ] behind Home Depot loading... [HD Loading... () ] rose 1.3 percent to $14.54 billion but missed analysts' average estimate of $14.75 billion. "Despite some recovery in our seasonal business, our performance for the quarter fell short of our expectations," said Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. Net income was $830 million, or 64 cents a share,