By Dhanya Skariachan
(Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc
The lackluster results came just days after Home Depot beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates with the help of cost controls and market share gains, and raised its earnings outlook for the year.
Lowe's recently decided to offer fewer discounts on expensive items like appliances, in sync with its bigger plan to offer "everyday low prices" rather than promotions. The move has driven some shoppers away.
Sales also suffered in the traditionally strong second quarter, which ended on August 3, as unseasonably warm weather early in the year pulled some demand into the first quarter.
Sales at Lowe's stores open at least a year fell 0.4 percent, including a 0.2 percent decrease for the U.S. business, marking the 13th straight quarter that the company trailed Home Depot Inc in same-store sales.
Net earnings were $747 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with $830 million, or 64 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of 70 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales fell 2 percent to $14.25 billion, while analysts expected $14.46 billion.
Lowe's shares were down 8.7 percent at $25.45 in trading before the market opened.
(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
