AutoZone (AZO) reported $4.28 billion in revenue for the quarter ended November 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 2.1%. EPS of $32.52 for the same period compares to $32.55 a year ago.
The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 billion, representing a surprise of -0.30%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -3.04%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $33.54.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how AutoZone performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
- Same store sales - Domestic - YoY change: 0.3% compared to the 1% average estimate based on five analysts.
- Total Auto-Zone Store: 7,387 compared to the 7,388 average estimate based on three analysts.
- Square footage - Total: 49,781 Ksq ft versus 49,609.91 Ksq ft estimated by three analysts on average.
- Number of stores - Domestic: 6,455 versus the three-analyst average estimate of 6,455.
- Total Same Store Sales (Constant Currency): 1.8% versus 1.3% estimated by two analysts on average.
- Sales per average square foot: $85 thousand versus $86.66 thousand estimated by two analysts on average.
- Square footage per store: 6.74 million compared to the 6.72 million average estimate based on two analysts.
- Number of stores - Opened-Mexico: 6 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 6.
- Number of stores - Opened-Domestic: 23 compared to the 17 average estimate based on two analysts.
- Net Sales- Auto Parts: $4.20 billion versus $4.21 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2% change.
- Net Sales- All Other: $79.91 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $79.54 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +7.1%.
- Net Sales- Domestic Commercial sales: $1.13 billion compared to the $1.14 billion average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.2% year over year.
Shares of AutoZone have returned +4.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.1% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
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