AutoZone Gears Up to Report Q2 Earnings: What to Expect?

AutoZone, Inc. AZO is slated to release second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on March 3, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share (EPS) and revenues is pegged at $27.58 and $4.30 billion, respectively.

For the fiscal second quarter, the consensus estimate for AutoZone’s earnings has moved down a penny in the past seven days. Its bottom-line estimates imply 2.5% decline from the year-ago reported numbers. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZO's quarterly revenues implies year-over-year growth of 8.8%. The company's earnings miss estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average negative surprise of 3.54%. This is depicted in the graph below:

AutoZone, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

AutoZone, Inc. price-eps-surprise | AutoZone, Inc. Quote

Highlights of AZO’s Fiscal Q1 Results

In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, AZO’s adjusted EPS of $31.04 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $32.24 and decreased from $32.52 reported in the year-ago quarter. The company reported net sales of $4.63 billion, which marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.64 billion but rose 8.2% year over year.

Things to Note Ahead of AZO’s Q2 Release

AutoZone’s first quarter of fiscal 2026 revenues of $4.6 billion rose 8.2% year over year. The company expects continued growth in fiscal 2026, driven by strong DIY and commercial business performance with expanded coverage and improved parts availability. The company continues to grow its market share through new customer wins and deeper engagement with existing clients. We expect its same-store growth, which represents the revenue generated by a company’s existing locations during a specific time compared with the same period from the previous year, to be 4.5% in the fiscal second quarter.

AutoZone’s technology investments to improve the electronic catalog might limit near-term cash inflows. In fiscal 2025, the company spent around $1.4 billion in capex, and it expects to spend $1.6 billion in fiscal 2026. The company is also investing in SG&A to take advantage of growth opportunities in the near and medium term. Although these investments are expected to improve customer experience, delivery speed and productivity and market share, it is likely to hurt the company’s margin in the near term. In the fiscal second quarter, SG&A is expected to have increased at a pace similar to the first quarter, as new store openings have an outsized impact on payroll, depreciation and occupancy costs.

While strong DIY and commercial business performance is likely to have boosted AutoZone’s top-line growth, high capex and rising SG&A are expected to have hurt its cash flows and margins in the to-be-reported quarter.

Earnings Whispers for AZO

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for AutoZone for the quarter to be reported, as it does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients. A positive Earnings ESP, combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: AZO has an Earnings ESP of -0.76%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Peer Releases

Genuine Parts Company GPC reported fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 4, 2026. It posted adjusted EPS of $1.55 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.79. The bottom line fell from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.61 per share. 

The company reported net sales of $6.01 billion, which marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.04 billion but grew 4.2 % year over year. The increase was driven by a 1.7% contribution from comparable sales, a 1.5% boost from acquisitions and a 0.9% favorable impact from forex transactions.

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. ORLY reported fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 17, 2026. It posted adjusted EPS of 71 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents. The bottom line increased from 66 cents in the prior-year quarter.

The automotive parts retailer registered quarterly revenues of $4.41 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.40 billion. The top line also increased 7.8% year over year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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