AutoZone tops earnings estimates, comparable sales impress (NYSE:AZO)

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) shares see-sawed on Tuesday regardless of the corporate’s Q2 earnings topping analyst expectations.

For the fiscal second quarter, a report of $24.64 in earnings per share got here in $3.00 stronger than anticipated whereas a 9.5% bounce in income 12 months over 12 months to $3.69B was $130M above consensus estimates. Home similar retailer gross sales elevated 5.3% for the quarter, properly above the three.41% consensus as properly.

“We’re proud to report stable similar retailer gross sales development on prime of final 12 months’s 13.8%,” CEO Invoice Rhodes commented. “For the rest of fiscal 2023, we shall be laser targeted on relentless execution, and we are going to proceed to focus our capital on tasks that meet or exceed our return on capital targets. We’ll take nothing as a right as we are going to proceed to give attention to our long-term strategy of accelerating working earnings and free money flows whereas utilizing our steadiness sheet successfully.”

Prices stay a priority for the corporate, nonetheless, with the price of gross sales rising almost $180M 12 months over 12 months amid continued inflationary pressures and elevated freight prices specifically. For the primary half of the fiscal 12 months, the price of gross sales have elevated over $430M as in comparison with 2022.

Shares of AutoZone (AZO) rose on the market open earlier than retreating about 1% throughout the first half-hour of buying and selling.

Elsewhere, the corporate repurchased $906M value of shares in Q2 at a mean worth of $2,434 per share. The corporate mentioned that $1.8B stays accessible beneath its present share repurchase authorization.

Dig into the small print of the print.