During my last update I ventured into the rivalry sector of the packaging transportation sector when comparing the differences between buying FedEx and UPS. Using the same type method, I will attempt to do the same regarding the two biggest home builders in Home Depot (HD) and Lowe s (LOW). While both have positives and negatives, like all decisions some benefits will outweigh the negatives in terms of higher margins when juxtaposed together.

Looking specifically at the fundamentals, there are a lot of similarities between the two home building corporations. Both have been in the public market for about the same number of years, and while the years do remain similar, the numbers do not. Home Depot has revenue

almost twice that of Lowe s which explains its tremendous upward growth over its entire duration. However, looking specifically the last five years, Lowe s has grown to provide margins which are similar or even higher than that of Home Depot and has a greater opportunity to grow. According to Yahoo Finance, Home Depot has the potential to grow about 9% this year and close to 13% the next five years. On the other hand Lowe s has the potential to grow nearly 11% this year and close to 16% in the next five years giving investors some statistics to play around with when determining which stock to buy. Fundamentals in other areas run in similar patterns making this a guessing game in determining which stock would be more beneficial in terms of numbers. However, as of right now, I would say Lowe s has the relatively higher potential to beat out Home Depot.

Looking more closely in terms of technical analysis, Lowe s seems to beat out Home Depot again. For the last five years Home Depot has seemed to be stuck in a range of 35.00 to 45.00 with no real potential or future advances to thrive upon. On the other hand, Lowe s has provided slow but stable growth during these last five years yielding growth of nearly 100% for investors in terms of capital gains. With the continued opportunity especially during the fall months when hurricanes

are prevalent and lots of home repair equipment is needed, Lowe s seems to hold the advantage yet again in terms of technical analysis.

Thus, while I truly do not like this type of industry, especially during times of a potential recession, I would still put my funds into Lowe s for at least a few months this fall. Your gains may not be as high if placed in a more volatile or riskier choice, but regardless you should be assured of a high potential to earn some quality capital gains in the next few months.

Dennis Biray presents advice on all kinds of topics ranging from finance and investing to fitness to sports. For more information email him at

[mailto:dbiray@gmail.com]dbiray@gmail.com, or to view other articles written by him visit http://www.biraynetworks.co.nr