Lowe's Cos. is raising $2 billion in the bond market to finance stock repurchases as the second-biggest U.S. home-improvement retailer boosts leverage to reward shareholders even as its profitability wanes.

Lowe's sold five-, 10- and 30-year debt yesterday, five months after the company that sells products from flowers to washing machines issued $1 billion of notes. The retailer may use proceeds to buy back shares, according to a regulatory filing. Lowe's plans to increase its leverage to as much as 2.25 times from 1.8 times, Robert Hull, Lowe's chief financial officer, told an earnings conference call in November.

That should raise concern among bondholders that the Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer will add to a $9.2 billion debt load when earnings rise, according to Brookfield Investment Management Inc. The company plans to repurchase $4.5 billion of stock annually until 2015 even after same-store sales were little changed last year and margins narrowed.