AutoZone Gears Up to Report Q3 Earnings: Here's What to Expect

AutoZone, Inc. AZO is slated to release third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on May 27, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share (EPS) and revenues is pegged at $36.78 and $4.4 billion, respectively.

For the fiscal third quarter, the consensus estimate for AutoZone’s earnings has moved down 10 cents in the past 30 days. Its bottom-line estimates imply 0.25% growth from the year-ago reported numbers. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZO's quarterly revenues implies year-over-year growth of 3.95%. The company's earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters and missed thrice, delivering an average negative surprise of 3.23%. 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 Q2 Results

In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, AZO’s adjusted EPS of $28.29 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $29.16 and decreased from $28.89 reported in the year-ago quarter. The company reported net sales of $3.95 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.99 billion but rose 2.4% year over year. 

Things to Note Ahead of AZO’s Q3 Release

AutoZone has achieved record sales for 35 consecutive years. Its fiscal 2024 revenues of $18.5 billion rose 5.7% year over year. The company expects continued growth in fiscal 2025, driven by strong DIY and commercial business performance with expanded coverage and improved parts availability. 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 1.3% in the fiscal third quarter.

The focus on increasing its market penetration via the expansion of mega hubs has been boosting AZO’s prospects. With 111 mega hub locations at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025, AutoZone is halfway through its objective of establishing more than 200 mega hubs. It anticipates opening at least 19 more locations in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2025. The company expects to open around 100 international stores in fiscal 2025. 

Strength in DIY and commercial business performance, expected same-store sales growth and store expansion efforts in fiscal 2025 are likely to have boosted the company’s top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

Earnings Whispers for AZO

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for AutoZone for the quarter to be reported, as it has 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 exactly the case here.

AZO’s Earnings ESP: AZO has an Earnings ESP of +0.28%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at a higher level 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 of AZO: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Peer Releases

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP reported first quarter of 2025 results on May 22, 2025. It posted an adjusted loss of 22 cents per share, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 81 cents. The company reported adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Advance Auto generated net revenues of $2.58 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 billion. Comparable store sales decreased 0.6% year over year. We projected a decline of 2% for the same. The top line decreased from $2.77 billion generated in the year-ago quarter.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. ORLY reported first-quarter 2025 results on April 23, 2025. It posted adjusted EPS of $9.35, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.83. The bottom line, however, increased from $9.20 reported in the prior-year quarter.

The automotive parts retailer registered quarterly revenues of $4.14 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.17 billion. The top line, however, increased 4% year over year. During the quarter, comparable store sales grew 3.6%. 

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

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