AutoZone Expansion Rings Up Earnings Beat

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 4:20PM EST · Published Dec 8, 10:05AM EST

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AutoZone Expansion Rings Up Earnings Beat — © Thinkstock

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. The company had $8.29 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.4 billion in revenue. That compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates that called for $8.24 in EPS on revenue of $2.39 billion. In the same period of the previous year AutoZone posted EPS of $7.27 and $2.26 billion in revenue.

Domestic same-store sales increased 3.5% for the quarter.

AutoZone repurchased 537 thousand shares of its common stock for $400 million during the first quarter, at an average price of $746 per share. At the end of the first quarter, it had $698 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.

During the quarter, the company opened 22 new stores and relocated one store in the United States, making a total of 5,163 domestic stores.

On the books, the company had $165.5 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, compared to $117.2 in the same period from the previous year.

Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of AutoZone, commented on earnings:

I would like to thank our entire organization for delivering another quarter of very solid financial results. We are pleased to report our thirty-seventh consecutive quarter of double digit earnings per share growth. Our strong culture enables us to provide exceptional customer service which is a key point of differentiation. We continued implementation of our inventory availability initiatives. At the end of the quarter, we have expanded our increased frequency of distribution center deliveries initiative to just under 1,000 domestic AutoZone stores and expect by the end of the fiscal year to be servicing approximately 2,000 of our over 5,000 domestic AutoZone stores. We also plan to open approximately five additional Mega Hubs by the end of the fiscal year. Our results to date continue to meet or exceed our expectations, further confirming our new inventory deployment strategy. While we continue to strategically invest in our business in order to support our growth, we remain committed to our disciplined approach to growing operating earnings and utilizing our capital effectively.

Shares of AutoZone traded up 4.4% at $785.49 Tuesday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $784.00 and a 52-week trading range of $569.54 to $803.25.
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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.