AutoZone Falls as Earnings Fail to Excite Investors

AutoZone Inc (AZO:US) has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter, which saw the company achieve net sales of $5.7 billion, representing a 6.4% increase compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2022.

In terms of profitability, gross profit for the quarter reached 52.7% of sales, marking a notable improvement of 118 basis points when compared to the previous year. Domestic same-store sales rose 1.7% in FQ4 and 3.4% in FY22.

AutoZone's operating profit experienced a 10.8% boost, reaching $1.2 billion. Net income for the quarter also saw a healthy increase of 6.8% compared to the same period last year, totaling $864.8 million. 

Diluted earnings per share reflected strong growth, surging by 14.7% to $46.46 from $40.51 in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. Analysts were looking for $45.12.

“While we started this quarter slowly, we saw improvements in the back half of our quarter. Despite lower than expected growth in domestic Commercial, we believe that the initiatives we have in place and are implementing will drive stronger growth in fiscal 2024. Additionally, we continued to be pleased with our International stores’ performance and we are excited about future growth prospects across both Mexico and Brazil,” said Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

The company’s FQ4 earnings report comes after Congress members were mostly selling AZO shares throughout 2023. Most notably, Rep. Josh Gottheimer has been actively selling the stock, including the sale on June 01, when it closed at $2,373.

AutoZone shares are up 4% year-to-date after closing at $2,529 on Monday.