AutoZone Inc. AZO reported earnings of $48.11 per share for fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 (ended Aug. 31, 2024), up 3.5% year over year. However, earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $53.31 per share. Net sales grew 9% year over year to $6.20 billion. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.18 billion.

In the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.66 billion, up from $1.50 billion recorded in the year-ago period. Domestic same-store sales (sales at stores open at least for a year) were up 0.2%.

Gross profit increased to $3.26 billion from the prior-year quarter’s $3 billion. Operating profit increased 5.7% year over year to $1.29 billion.

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 68 new stores in the United States. It opened 31 new stores in Mexico and 18 in Brazil. It exited the quarter with 6,432 stores in the United States, 794 in Mexico and 127 in Brazil. The total store count was 7,353 as of Aug. 31, 2024.

Its inventory increased 6.8% year over year in the reported quarter. At quarter-end, the inventory per store was $837,000 compared with $807,000 a year ago.

Financials and Share Repurchases

As of Aug. 31, 2024, AutoZone had cash and cash equivalents of $298.2 million, up from $277.1 million as of Aug. 26, 2023. Its total debt amounted to $9 billion as of Aug. 31, 2024, compared with $7.67 billion as of Aug. 26, 2023.

The company repurchased 244,000 shares of its common stock for $710.6 million during the fiscal fourth quarter at an average price of $2,915 per share. At quarter-end, it had $2.2 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.

AutoZone’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

AZO currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Dorman Products, Inc. DORM, Blue Bird Corporation BLBD and Douglas Dynamics, Inc. PLOW, 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 consensus estimate for DORM’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 3.71% and 35.46%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 51 cents and 37 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 17.58% and 215.89%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 65 cents and 80 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLOW’s 2024 earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 60.4%. EPS estimates for 2024 have improved 15 cents in the past 60 days.