I would invest in Lowe's over Home Depot. Over the past five years, both firms have undertaken aggressive expansion. However, the more measured pace of Lowe's expansion has allowed them to steadily improve their financial position. Conversely, Home Depot has just in the past year added a significant amount of leverage in order to finance their growth. Given that Lowe's has been able to successfully expand parallel to Home Depot, I do not see any first mover advantages that would justify the premium Home Depot has put on its growth in taking on such debt.
             This sentiment is backed up by the deterioration of Home Depot's interest coverage ratio. Five years ago, HD had almost no debt. But since it began to take on debt, it has seen its ability to cover those payments drop dramatically with each passing year. While the present interest coverage ratio is not alarming in and of itself, the trend exhibited is. Lowe's, on the other hand, has been able to slowly improve its coverage ratio, to the point where it now has a stronger ability to meet its obligations than does Home Depot.
             Aside from these aspects, the two firms are remarkably similar. Both have managed to maintain a course of expansion that has taken them across the United States and into international markets. Both have also demonstrated steady increases in average ticket, and their profit margins are similar. Lowe's operation is slightly more efficient, however, since they have registered a steady increase in profit margin, while Home Depot's margin is bit more erratic, which shows they have less control over their profit margin. Both companies have maintained fairly steady, and similar, returns on both assets and equity, along with steady earnings per share growth.
             With all the similarities between the two firms, the steadier, more conservative growth pattern and stronger financial measures would convince me to invest in Lowe&...