AutoZone Inc. AZO reported earnings of $32.52 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended Nov. 23, 2024), which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $33.54. The company reported earnings of $32.55 per share in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2024. Net sales grew 2.1% year over year to $4.28 billion. The top line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 billion.
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In the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.13 billion, up from $1.09 billion recorded in the year-ago period. Domestic same-store sales (sales at stores open at least for a year) were up 0.3%.
Gross profit increased to $2.27 billion from the prior-year quarter’s $2.21 billion. Operating profit decreased 0.8% year over year to $841 million.
AutoZone, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
AutoZone, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | AutoZone, Inc. Quote
Store Opening & Inventory
During the quarter, AutoZone opened 23 new stores in the United States. It opened six new stores in Mexico and five in Brazil. It exited the quarter with 6,455 stores in the United States, 800 in Mexico and 132 in Brazil. The total store count was 7,387 as of Nov. 23, 2024.
Its inventory increased 8.7% year over year in the reported quarter. At quarter-end, the inventory per store was $849,000 compared with $806,000 a year ago.
Financials and Share Repurchases
As of Nov. 23, 2024, AutoZone had cash and cash equivalents of $304 million, up from $298.2 million as of Aug. 31, 2024. Its total debt amounted to $9.01 billion as of Nov. 23, 2024, compared with $9.02 billion as of Aug. 31, 2024.
The company repurchased 160,000 shares of its common stock for $505.2 million during the fiscal first quarter at an average price of $3,156 per share. At quarter-end, it had $1.7 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.
AZO’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
AutoZone currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Dorman Products, Inc. DORM, Tesla, Inc. TSLA and Blue Bird Corporation BLBD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DORM’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 3.66% and 51.98%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 75 cents and 88 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TSLA’s 2024 sales suggests year-over-year growth of 2.97%. EPS estimates for 2024 have improved 22 cents in the past 60 days. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved 7 cents in the past seven days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 10.97% and 12.14%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 have improved 18 cents in the past 30 days.
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AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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