Between Home Depot and Lowes, which company is more profitable? Look at their income statements and compare them. Which company do you think is more efficient?

Lowe's Companies, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Current and Retained Earnings in Millions, Except Per Share and Percentage Data Year Ended Three Months Ended (Unaudited) (Unaudited) February 2, 2018 February 3, 2017 Amount % Sales Amount % Sales 15,494 100.00 $ 15,784 100.00 (Unaudited) February 2, 2018 Amount % Sales February 3, 2017 Amount % Sales Current Earnings Net sales $ $ 68,619 100.00 $ 65,017 100.00 Cost of sales 10,268 66.27 10,352 65.59 45,210 65.89 42,553 65.45 Gross margin 5,226 33.73 5,432 34.41 23,409 34.11 22,464 34.55 Expenses Selling, general and administrative 3,761 24.28 3.789 23.99 15,376 22.40 15.129 23.27 Depreciation and amortization 367 2.37 374 2.37 1,447 2.11 1,489 2.29 Operating income 1,098 7.08 1,269 8.05 6,586 9.60 5,846 8.99 Interest - net 154 0.98 159 1.01 633 0.92 645 0.99 Loss on extinguishment of debt 464 0.68 Pre-tax earnings 944 6.10 1,110 7.04 5,489 8.00 5.201 8.00 Income tax provision 390 2.52 447 2.84 2,042 2.98 2.108 3.24 Net earnings 554 3.58 $ 663 4.20 $ 3,447 5.02 $ $ 3,093 4.76 TABLE 3.3 Home Depot's income statement, fiscal 2017 % of Sales Net sales Cost of goods sold Selling, general & administrative expenses Depreciation Earnings before interest and income taxes (EBIT) Interest expense Taxable income $ Million 100,904 66,548 17,864 1,811 14,681 983 13,698 5,068 8,630 100.0% 66.0% 17.7% 1.8% 14.5% 1.0% 13.6% 5.0% Taxes Net income Allocation of net income 8.6% 4.2% Dividends Addition to retained earnings 4,212 4,418 4.4% Source: Derived from Home Depot annual reports