By Dave Sebastian

Lowe's Cos. expects its earnings to rise in the fourth quarter as the home-improvement retailer continues to notch gains in digital sales.

For the fourth quarter, Lowe's said it expects earnings of $1.10 a share to $1.20 a share on a reported and adjusted basis. It sees comparable sales growth of about 15% to 20% from a year ago.

For the fourth quarter in the prior year, the company posted earnings of 66 cents a share on sales of $16.03 billion.

Lowe's expects fourth-quarter adjusted operating income as a percentage of sales to be about flat compared with the prior-year period due to Covid-19-related operating expenses, $150 million in expenses related to the overhaul of the layout of its U.S. stores and investments for its supply-chain network.

The company previously withdrew its financial guidance for the full year and declined to provide new guidance, citing uncertainty during the pandemic.

Shares fell 6% to $152.15 in premarket trading.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-18-20 0643ET