Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison pointed to three factors that are planted firmly in the positive column of the home improvement industry. He calls them “core demand drivers.” Disposable personal income is up. Home prices are up. And housing stock is getting older, and therefore in need of home improvement retailers like Lowe’s. Against these positive factors are several negatives and unknowns, including high interest rates and low existing home sales”. …All those factors played into the company’s performance of 2023, during which the company’s net income of $7.7 billion was up from $6.5 billion in the previous year. Net sales for the full year were $86.4 billion, down 11% from $97.1 billion in the prior year. …The big decline came in the lumber aisle. But despite lumber deflation, the company generated positive comparable sales for the pro customer for the year. And the stand-alone building materials category stands out starkly as a bright spot in year-over-year sales.