LOW vs BURL vs WSM Stock Comparison

Lowes Companies, Burlington Stores and Williams Sonoma Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LOW Lowes Companies Inc
$198.20 +4.7% 1M -18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$110.88B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$90.43B
Div. yield
0.02%
Home Improvement Retail Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
BURL Burlington Stores, Inc.
$235.15 -7.7% 1M -13.3% 1Y
Market cap
$14.89B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.22B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
WSM Williams Sonoma Inc
$250.40 +8.0% 1M +29.8% 1Y
Market cap
$29.40B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.04B
Div. yield
–
Home Improvement Retail Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lowes Companies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lowes Companies 5, Burlington Stores 3, Williams Sonoma 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLOWBURLWSMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $110.88B $14.89B $29.40B LOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.7x 20.8x 24.6x LOW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.6x 20.8x 26.9x LOW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +10.9% +2.6% BURL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.3% 5.8% 14.9% WSM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.5% 20.1% — LOW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 0.8x — BURL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.7% -13.3% +29.8% WSM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.1%/yr -3.1%/yr +22.2%/yr WSM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.3% 40.6% 33.1% LOW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 59/100 51/100 BURL

Percentile Scorecard

LOWBURLWSM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisLOWBURLWSM
Valuation 47 #56 of 104 38 #65 of 104 6 #98 of 104
Growth 38 #62 of 99 93 #8 of 99 55 #45 of 99
Profitability 87 #14 of 98 78 #22 of 98 96 #5 of 98
Financial Health 23 #87 of 112 40 #68 of 112 78 #25 of 112
Shareholder Returns 38 #45 of 72 45 #40 of 72 21 #57 of 72
Overall 46 59 51
  • LOW ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BURL ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • WSM ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodLOWBURLWSMSPY
1 month +4.7%-7.7%+8.0% -0.2%
3 months -9.2%-36.5%+6.0% +3.9%
6 months -17.5%-26.8%+33.6% +8.2%
Year to date -17.8%-18.6%+40.2% +12.9%
1 year -18.7%-13.3%+29.8% +12.3%
3 years +7.9%+102.0%+243.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +2.6%+26.4%+50.9% +23.3%
5 years -14.5%-14.8%+172.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.1%-3.1%+22.2% +10.9%
10 years +195.1%+220.1%+980.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +11.4%+12.3%+26.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLOWBURLWSMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.3%40.6%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.0%43.4%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.610.741.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.66-0.330.90 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.6%-63.3%-52.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.0%-36.8%-4.0% -1.2%
52-week high $287.39$372.18$260.86 $779.14
52-week low $179.47$232.24$168.64 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleLOWBURLWSM
P/E now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 16.7x 20.7xmedian 16.7x 24.7xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 0.5x 1.2xmedian 0.5x 3.7xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 9.0x 10.9xmedian 9.0x —median 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 16.5x 35.8xmedian 16.5x 25.7xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median -15.0xmedian 1.7x 7.4xmedian 1.7x 13.8xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.54median 0.72 0.52median 0.72 2.38median 0.72

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsLOWBURLWSM
Revenue $90.43B $12.22B $8.04B
Gross profit $29.92B $5.45B $3.85B
Operating income $10.29B $1.01B $1.57B
Net income $6.64B $714.18M $1.20B
Free cash flow $7.00B $412.54M –
EPS (diluted) $11.86 $11.18 $10.05
Cash & equivalents $3.17B $703.69M $1.03B
Total debt $37.56B $1.91B –
Shares (diluted) 560.00M 63.90M 118.89M
Enterprise value $103.84B $11.62B $25.48B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricLOWBURLWSM
P/E 16.7x 20.7x 24.7x
P/FCF 15.9x 35.8x 25.7x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 10.4x –
P/S 1.2x 1.2x 3.7x
P/B -15.0x 7.4x 13.8x
P/Tangible book -8.5x 8.4x 13.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.4x 10.9x –
EV/EBIT 14.1x 15.7x 18.1x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 1.3x 3.5x
EV/FCF 20.8x 38.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.7x 11.3x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.54 0.52 2.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLOWBURLWSM
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 10.9% 2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 10.3% -0.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.9% 13.3% 6.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 13.0% 4.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.4% 27.6% 8.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 41.4% 7.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -3.1% 30.7% 6.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 39.1% 7.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.1% 30.7% 10.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 39.9% 10.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -5.7% 76.0% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 22.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -8.9% 235.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 5.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLOWBURLWSM
Gross margin 33.1% 44.6% 47.9%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 12.0% –
Operating margin 11.4% 8.3% 19.6%
Pretax margin 9.7% 7.7% 20.1%
Net margin 7.3% 5.8% 14.9%
FCF margin 7.7% 3.4% –
Operating cash flow margin 10.2% 11.6% –
Return on equity – 37.2% 56.6%
Return on assets 12.0% 7.2% 21.9%
Return on invested capital 26.5% 20.1% –
Return on capital employed 30.0% 13.2% 44.2%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.0x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.0% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLOWBURLWSM
Debt / assets 67.2% 19.1% –
Debt / equity -5.0x 1.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 5.4x 4.6x –
Liabilities / assets 113.3% 80.1% 61.1%
Equity / assets -13.3% 19.9% 38.9%
Interest coverage – 13.7x –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.12 3.03 8.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLOWBURLWSM
Dividend yield 2.5% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 2.0% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 2.0% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 40.5% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 38.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusLOWBURLWSM
Forward P/E 15.6xFY2026 20.8xFY2026 26.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.72FY2026 $11.29FY2026 $9.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.8% +26.7% +18.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $85.86BFY2026 $12.22BFY2026 $8.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% +18.9% -6.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLOWBURLWSM
Held by institutions 79.5% 100.0% 96.2%
Institutions holding 2,653 653 1,001
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% 0.0% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,070 367 482
Institutions selling 1,190 215 364
Buyers to sellers 0.90 1.71 1.32

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

LOWBURLWSM
LOW 1.00 0.23 0.57
BURL 0.23 1.00 0.30
WSM 0.57 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LOW, BURL and WSM?

Lowes Companies (LOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lowes Companies (LOW) $110.88B, Burlington Stores (BURL) $14.89B, Williams Sonoma (WSM) $29.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, LOW, BURL and WSM?

Lowes Companies (LOW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lowes Companies (LOW) 16.7x, Burlington Stores (BURL) 20.8x, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 24.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lowes Companies (LOW) is cheapest (Lowes Companies (LOW) 15.6x, Burlington Stores (BURL) 20.8x, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 26.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Burlington Stores (BURL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lowes Companies (LOW) +8.2%, Burlington Stores (BURL) +10.9%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Williams Sonoma (WSM) has the highest net margin (Lowes Companies (LOW) 7.3%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 5.8%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 14.9%). On return on invested capital, Lowes Companies (LOW) leads (Lowes Companies (LOW) 26.5%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 20.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Williams Sonoma (WSM) returned the most: Lowes Companies (LOW) -18.7%, Burlington Stores (BURL) -13.3%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +29.8%. Over five years, Williams Sonoma (WSM) compounded fastest (Lowes Companies (LOW) -3.1%/yr, Burlington Stores (BURL) -3.1%/yr, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +22.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Lowes Companies (LOW) 0.02%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 0.00%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 0.00%. Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams Sonoma (WSM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lowes Companies (LOW) has been the steadiest (Lowes Companies (LOW) 28.3%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 40.6%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LOW, BURL and WSM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lowes Companies (LOW) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.