AutoZone (NYSE: AZO), the renowned retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories, has announced its impressive financial results for the fourth quarter, surpassing the expectations of analysts.
During its fourth fiscal quarter, AutoZone reported earnings per share of $46.46, outperforming the consensus estimate by $1.24, which stood at $45.22. The company’s revenue for the quarter also exceeded predictions, reaching $5.69 billion compared to the estimated $5.62 billion.
The U.S. same-store sales experienced a healthy uptick of 1.7%.
Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President, and CEO, commented, “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”
He continued, “While we turn our focus to performance in the new fiscal year, we will remain committed to prudently investing capital in our business, and we will be steadfast in our long-term, disciplined approach to increasing operating earnings and cash flows while utilizing our balance sheet effectively,.”
AutoZone’s expansion efforts were also notable as they opened 53 new stores and closed one in the U.S. This brought their total store count to 7,140, marking a 1.4% increase on a sequential basis.