GFF vs LOW: How Griffon Corporation and Lowe's Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
GFF and LOW are similarly sized, but LOW trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (15.44x vs 17.86x): the market is paying up for GFF's profile and pricing LOW more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
GFF vs LOW: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | GFF | LOW | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 17.86 | 15.44 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 100.79 | 17.58 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.39 | 0.85 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 95% of range | 9% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: LOW is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how GFF and LOW affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. GFF and LOW share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined GFF and LOW exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Griffon Corporation (GFF) do?
Griffon Corporation is a diversified management and holding company that, after a multi-year portfolio overhaul, operates primarily as a North American building products manufacturer. Its Home and Building Products segment makes residential garage doors under the Clopay brand, commercial sectional doors, rolling steel doors and grilles, and residential and commercial ceiling fans through Hunter Fan, which Griffon acquired in 2022. Products reach the market through professional dealers and installers as well as big-box home centers, so demand tracks a mix of new residential construction, repair and remodel activity, and non-residential building.
What does Lowe's (LOW) do?
Lowe's is the second-largest home-improvement retailer in the United States, operating roughly 1,700 large-format stores plus a growing e-commerce business. It sells building materials, tools, appliances, lumber, hardware, paint, lawn and garden, plumbing, electrical, and seasonal products to two main customer groups: do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners and professional contractors (Pro). Lowe's makes money on retail margins across these categories, with appliances, installation services, and the Pro business as key drivers. The company has invested heavily in growing its Pro customer base, expanding its supply chain and fulfillment, improving its digital and omnichannel capabilities, and rolling out loyalty programs. Demand is tied to the health of the housing market, home prices, repair-and-remodel activity, and consumer confidence, though the large installed base of aging US homes provides a steady stream of maintenance and renovation spending. Lowe's is a Dividend King with a multi-decade record of dividend increases and large share buybacks. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina.
GFF vs LOW: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- GFF drivers: Pure-play building products focus; Price and mix over volume.
- LOW drivers: Aging housing stock drives repair-remodel; Growing the Pro customer base.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Griffon's earnings are now concentrated in a single end market, so a prolonged downturn in U.S. For LOW, lowe's is cyclical and sensitive to the housing market: high mortgage rates, falling home prices, or a recession reduce big-ticket projects, appliance purchases, and remodeling activity, pressuring sales.
GFF or LOW: which should you pick?
GFF vs LOW: the full fundamentals
GFF. GFF traded near $103 in early August 2026 after a sharp post-earnings move, putting it around 26 times trailing and roughly 18 times forward earnings, with a dividend yield near 0.9%. Trailing revenue of about $2.56 billion still reflects the AMES businesses now moving to joint ventures, so the roughly $1.8 billion continuing-operations guide is the cleaner run-rate. The gap between those two figures is the main reason headline valuation screens can be misleading for this name right now.
LOW. Lowe's trades at a market-like retail multiple, often at a slight discount to Home Depot, reflecting its solid but historically lower margins and greater DIY mix. The valuation balances housing-cycle sensitivity against the durable repair-and-remodel demand from an aging housing stock, a 50-plus-year dividend record, and aggressive buybacks. As a mature, cash-generative retailer, Lowe's is valued on steady earnings, free cash flow, and capital returns more than rapid growth.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): GFF shows q3 fy2026 revenue ~$481M (+7% YoY), q3 fy2026 adjusted eps ~$1.51 (vs ~$1.39), fy2026 revenue guidance (continuing ops) ~$1.8B, fy2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$458M; LOW shows revenue (ttm) ~$83 billion, operating margin ~12-13%, net income (ttm) ~$7 billion, p/e (ttm) ~20x.
The bottom line: GFF vs LOW
GFF and LOW are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined GFF and LOW exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how GFF or LOW fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Griffon Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how GFF fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between GFF and LOW?
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Griffon Corporation is a diversified management and holding company that, after a multi-year portfolio overhaul, operates primarily as a North American building products manufacturer. Lowe's is the second-largest home-improvement retailer in the United States, operating roughly 1,700 large-format stores plus a growing e-commerce business. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is GFF or LOW the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, GFF or LOW?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), GFF trades at 17.86x and LOW at 15.44x, so LOW is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both GFF and LOW?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of GFF vs LOW?
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GFF: Griffon's earnings are now concentrated in a single end market, so a prolonged downturn in U.S. housing turnover, new construction or repair and remodel spending would hit results with fewer offsets than before. Residential door volume has already been declining, which means growth depends heavily on continued price and mix gains that competitors could eventually compete away. Steel and aluminum costs, tariffs and freight are direct input risks for a metal-intensive product line, and pricing actions can lag cost spikes. The retained 43% and 49% AMES stakes are illiquid, hard for outside investors to value, and expose Griffon to results it no longer controls. Leverage near 2.2 times is manageable but leaves less cushion than an unlevered peer if EBITDA contracts, and the company's history of portfolio restructuring, activist involvement and large prior-year impairment charges means reported results can look noisy from period to period. LOW: Lowe's is cyclical and sensitive to the housing market: high mortgage rates, falling home prices, or a recession reduce big-ticket projects, appliance purchases, and remodeling activity, pressuring sales. It competes directly with the larger and historically more efficient Home Depot, plus Amazon and specialty retailers. Weak consumer confidence and trade-down behavior hurt discretionary home-improvement spending, and inflation in lumber, labor, and freight squeezes margins. Execution risk on the Pro-growth and supply-chain initiatives is real, and post-pandemic normalization has pressured same-store sales. The stock can de-rate when housing sentiment weakens.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell GFF or LOW; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.