A month has gone by since the last earnings report for AutoZone (AZO). Shares have lost about 4.3% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AutoZone due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
AutoZone Q4 Earnings Miss Expectations, Sales Increase Y/Y
AutoZone reported earnings of $48.71 per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended Aug. 30, 2025), which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $50.52. The company had reported earnings of $48.11 per share in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2024. Net sales grew 0.6% year over year to $6.24 billion and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.22 billion.
Key Tidbits
In the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.76 billion, up from $1.66 billion recorded in the year-ago period. Domestic same-store sales (sales at stores open at least for a year) were up 4.8%. Gross profit decreased to $3.22 billion from the prior-year quarter’s $3.26 billion. Operating profit decreased 7.8% year over year to $1.2 billion.
During the quarter, AutoZone opened 91 new stores in the United States. It opened 45 new stores in Mexico and six in Brazil. It exited the year with 6,627 stores in the United States, 883 in Mexico and 147 in Brazil. The total store count was 7,657 as of Aug. 30, 2025.
Its inventory increased 14.1% year over year in the reported quarter amid growth initiatives. At quarter-end, net inventory per store was negative $131,000 compared with negative $163,000 a year ago.
As of Aug. 30, 2025, AutoZone had cash and cash equivalents of $271.8 million, down from $298.2 million as of Aug. 31, 2024. Its total debt amounted to $8.8 billion as of Aug. 30, 2025, compared with $9.02 billion as of Aug. 31, 2024.
The company repurchased 117,000 shares of its common stock for $446.7 million during the fiscal fourth quarter at an average price of $3,821 per share. At year-end, it had $632.3 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
The consensus estimate has shifted -12.32% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, AutoZone has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It's no surprise AutoZone has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.
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AutoZone, Inc. (AZO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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