Automotive retailer AutoZone, Inc (NYSE:AZO) reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $51.58, missing the Street view of $53.53.
Quarterly revenues of $6.205 billion (+9.0% year over year) marginally missed the analyst consensus of $6.221 billion. Excluding sales from the additional week included in this year’s quarter, adjusted sales were up 2.6%.
Also Read: AutoZone Q4 Earnings Preview: Data Shows Strong Visit Growth, Analyst Says Company To ‘Continue To Take Share Over Time’
AutoZone said its fourth-quarter total company same-store sales increased 1.3%, while domestic sales grew 0.2%.
The gross profit margin for the quarter was 52.5%, down by 21 basis points year over year, primarily driven by a 53 basis point non-cash LIFO impact. Operating profit increased 6.1% to $1.3 billion.
Under its share repurchase program, AutoZone repurchased 244 thousand shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter at an average price per share of $2,915, for a total investment of $710.6 million.
Since the inception of the share repurchase program, the company has repurchased 155 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $238, for a total investment of $37.0 billion. At year end, the company had $2.2 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.
During the quarter that ended August 31, AutoZone opened 68 new stores in the U.S., 31 in Mexico, and 18 in Brazil, for a total of 117 net new stores.
AutoZone’s sales per average store reached $0.84 million, up from $0.79 million Y/Y during the quarter. The sales per average square foot grew to $124, up from $118 Y/Y. Total auto parts sales reached $6.09 billion, up from $5.59 billion Y/Y.
The domestic commercial sales for the quarter reached $1.66 billion, up from $1.5 billion Y/Y.
The company had 6,432 stores in the U.S., 794 in Mexico, and 127 in Brazil, for a total store count of 7,353.
AutoZone stock gained over 18% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE:VO) and iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSE:IWF).
Price Action: AZO stock is trading lower by 3.73% to $2,935.01 premarket at the last check on Tuesday.
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