Telis Demos

A day later, Lowe's sang a different tune, reporting higher third-quarter sales driven by online sales and continuing growth in its professional builder supply business.

While economic uncertainty, a stalled housing market, and high interest rates have led homeowners to delay remodeling and repair projects, Lowe's expressed optimism that the downturn might be starting to reverse.

Lowe's shares jumped 4% on Wednesday.

And on the week, its stock closed 2.8% higher on

while rival Home Depot shares finished down 5.25%.

Speaking of renovations, Target is eyeing its own improvements.

After cutting its annual profit outlook, the big box retailer said Wednesday it plans to put a billion dollars more toward upgrading its stores, bringing its total new investment next year to $5 billion.

The revamp, aimed at addressing shoppers' gripes, will include store experience improvements, better merchandise selection, and better technology and e-commerce.

Investors were less enthused with the plans, with target shares falling 2.8% on Wednesday.

The stock ended the week down 2.5%.

Meanwhile, shoppers of all incomes are flocking to rival Walmart for a good deal.

The retail giant is offering low prices on everything from eggs to milk to shoes, tires, and delivering those items to doorsteps fast.

That's certainly good news for Walmart, but if people are focused on the basics and willing to hunt for discounts, that might say something pretty concerning about the state of mind of the American consumer.

On Thursday, Walmart raised its full-year outlook after reporting strong sales for the quarter.

Its shares jumped 6.5% on Thursday and closed out the week almost 2.8% higher.

And finally, AI.

It's going nuclear.

The Trump administration is giving Constellation Energy a billion-dollar federal loan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to generate electricity for Microsoft's artificial intelligence business.

After a partial core meltdown in 1979, the country's worst nuclear power accident, one of the plant's two reactors was permanently shut down.

The second was deemed too costly, and that was shut down in 2019.