LOW vs WSM vs ROST Stock Comparison

Lowes Companies, Williams Sonoma and Ross Stores Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LOW Lowes Companies Inc
$198.25 +4.8% 1M -18.3% 1Y
Market cap
$110.83B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$90.43B
Div. yield
0.02%
Home Improvement Retail Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
WSM Williams Sonoma Inc
$249.84 +7.7% 1M +32.1% 1Y
Market cap
$29.41B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.04B
Div. yield
–
Home Improvement Retail Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
ROST Ross Stores, Inc.
$234.11 -0.9% 1M +49.4% 1Y
Market cap
$73.10B
P/E
27.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.51B
Div. yield
0.01%
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ross Stores leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ross Stores 6, Lowes Companies 4, Williams Sonoma 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLOWWSMROSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $110.83B $29.41B $73.10B LOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.7x 24.6x 27.5x LOW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.6x 26.8x 29.0x LOW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +2.6% +14.0% ROST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.3% 14.9% 10.8% WSM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.5% — 33.9% ROST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x — -0.8x ROST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% LOW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.3% +32.1% +49.4% ROST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.1%/yr +22.4%/yr +16.2%/yr WSM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 33.2% 26.1% ROST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 52/100 64/100 ROST

Percentile Scorecard

LOWWSMROST

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

AxisLOWWSMROST
Valuation 48 #55 of 104 6 #98 of 104 10 #94 of 104
Growth 38 #62 of 99 55 #45 of 99 81 #20 of 99
Profitability 87 #14 of 99 96 #5 of 99 91 #10 of 99
Financial Health 23 #87 of 113 80 #24 of 113 87 #16 of 113
Shareholder Returns 38 #46 of 73 22 #57 of 73 51 #36 of 73
Overall 47 52 64
  • LOW ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • WSM ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • ROST ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLOWWSMROSTSPY
1 month +4.8%+7.7%-0.9% -0.8%
3 months -6.2%+6.6%-3.8% +3.5%
6 months -18.3%+30.1%+3.5% +7.0%
Year to date -17.8%+39.9%+30.0% +12.2%
1 year -18.3%+32.1%+49.4% +13.0%
3 years +8.0%+242.7%+107.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +2.6%+50.8%+27.6% +23.1%
5 years -14.5%+174.7%+111.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year -3.1%+22.4%+16.2% +11.0%
10 years +194.3%+970.9%+268.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.4%+26.8%+13.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLOWWSMROSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%33.2%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%29.9%24.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.611.110.52 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.650.971.89 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.6%-52.4%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.0%-4.2%-8.3% -1.8%
52-week high $287.39$260.86$255.23 $779.14
52-week low $179.47$168.64$158.07 $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.

MultipleLOWWSMROST
P/E now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 16.7x 24.6xmedian 16.7x 28.0xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 0.5x 3.7xmedian 0.5x 3.1xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 9.0x —median 9.0x 18.3xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 16.5x 25.7xmedian 16.5x 26.8xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median -15.0xmedian 1.7x 13.7xmedian 1.7x 11.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.54median 0.72 2.37median 0.72 1.36median 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 monthsLOWWSMROST
Revenue $90.43B $8.04B $24.51B
Gross profit $29.92B $3.85B $7.27B
Operating income $10.29B $1.57B $3.37B
Net income $6.64B $1.20B $2.66B
Free cash flow $7.00B – $2.79B
EPS (diluted) $11.86 $10.05 $8.32
Cash & equivalents $3.17B $1.03B $4.29B
Total debt $37.56B – $1.02B
Shares (diluted) 560.00M 118.89M 319.45M
Enterprise value $103.80B $25.49B $56.02B

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
MetricLOWWSMROST
P/E 16.7x 24.6x 28.0x
P/FCF 15.9x 25.7x 26.8x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x – 20.4x
P/S 1.2x 3.7x 3.1x
P/B -15.0x 13.7x 11.1x
P/Tangible book -8.5x 13.7x 11.1x
EV/EBITDA 11.4x – 18.3x
EV/EBIT 14.1x 18.0x 21.2x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 3.5x 2.9x
EV/FCF 20.8x – 25.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.7x – 19.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.54 2.37 1.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLOWWSMROST
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 2.6% 14.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.0% -0.9% 8.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.9% 6.5% 22.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 4.7% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.4% 8.2% 30.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 7.1% 16.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -3.1% 6.1% 28.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 7.4% 18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.1% 10.3% 31.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 10.4% 20.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -5.7% – 48.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% – 8.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -8.9% – 66.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – 10.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLOWWSMROST
Gross margin 33.1% 47.9% 29.7%
EBITDA margin 14.1% – 16.0%
Operating margin 11.4% 19.6% 13.7%
Pretax margin 9.7% 20.1% 14.3%
Net margin 7.3% 14.9% 10.8%
FCF margin 7.7% – 11.4%
Operating cash flow margin 10.2% – 14.9%
Return on equity – 56.6% 40.8%
Return on assets 12.0% 21.9% 16.9%
Return on invested capital 26.5% – 33.9%
Return on capital employed 30.0% 44.2% 31.0%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.5x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLOWWSMROST
Debt / assets 67.2% – 6.4%
Debt / equity -5.0x – 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x – -0.8x
Debt / FCF 5.4x – 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 113.3% 61.1% 57.8%
Equity / assets -13.3% 38.9% 42.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.4x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.12 8.24 7.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLOWWSMROST
Dividend yield 2.5% 1.2% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.3% – 1.5%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 1.2% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 40.5% – 20.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 38.5% – 19.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.8% – 7.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – 7.4%

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.

ConsensusLOWWSMROST
Forward P/E 15.6xFY2026 26.8xFY2026 29.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.72FY2026 $9.31FY2026 $8.06FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.8% +18.8% +18.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $85.86BFY2026 $8.79BFY2026 $23.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.5%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% -6.0% +7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLOWWSMROST
Held by institutions 79.5% 96.2% 93.4%
Institutions holding 2,652 1,001 1,420
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% +1.1% +4.7%
Institutions buying 1,070 482 763
Institutions selling 1,189 364 440
Buyers to sellers 0.90 1.32 1.73

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.

LOWWSMROST
LOW 1.00 0.57 0.32
WSM 0.57 1.00 0.29
ROST 0.32 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LOW, WSM and ROST?

Lowes Companies (LOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lowes Companies (LOW) $110.83B, Williams Sonoma (WSM) $29.41B, Ross Stores (ROST) $73.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, LOW, WSM and ROST?

Lowes Companies (LOW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lowes Companies (LOW) 16.7x, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 24.6x, Ross Stores (ROST) 27.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lowes Companies (LOW) is cheapest (Lowes Companies (LOW) 15.6x, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 26.8x, Ross Stores (ROST) 29.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ross Stores (ROST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lowes Companies (LOW) +8.2%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +2.6%, Ross Stores (ROST) +14.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Williams Sonoma (WSM) has the highest net margin (Lowes Companies (LOW) 7.3%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 14.9%, Ross Stores (ROST) 10.8%). On return on invested capital, Ross Stores (ROST) leads (Lowes Companies (LOW) 26.5%, Ross Stores (ROST) 33.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ross Stores (ROST) returned the most: Lowes Companies (LOW) -18.3%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +32.1%, Ross Stores (ROST) +49.4%. Over five years, Williams Sonoma (WSM) compounded fastest (Lowes Companies (LOW) -3.1%/yr, Williams Sonoma (WSM) +22.4%/yr, Ross Stores (ROST) +16.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lowes Companies (LOW) has the highest dividend yield: Lowes Companies (LOW) 0.02%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 0.00%, Ross Stores (ROST) 0.01%. Williams Sonoma (WSM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ross Stores (ROST) has been the steadiest (Lowes Companies (LOW) 28.4%, Williams Sonoma (WSM) 33.2%, Ross Stores (ROST) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ross Stores (ROST) leads on 6. 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.