AutoZone Q2 Earnings Beat Expectations, Revenues Rise Y/Y

AutoZone Inc. AZO reported earnings of $27.63 per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended Feb. 14, 2026), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $27.1. The company had posted earnings of $28.29 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales rose 8.2% year over year to $4.27 billion but slightly missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.31 billion.

AZO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

AutoZone, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

Key Tidbits

In the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.15 billion, up from $1.05 billion in the year-ago period. Domestic same-store sales (sales at stores open at least a year) rose 3.4%.

Gross profit rose to $2.24 billion from $2.13 billion in the prior-year quarter. Operating profit fell 1.2% year over year to $698.5 million.

During the quarter, AutoZone opened 43 new stores in the United States, 18 in Mexico and three in Brazil. The company ended the quarter with 6,709 stores in the United States, 913 in Mexico and 152 in Brazil, taking the total store count to 7,774 as of Feb. 14, 2026.

Inventory rose 13.1% year over year in the reported quarter, driven by growth initiatives and inflation. At quarter-end, net inventory per store was negative $105,000 compared with negative $161,000 a year earlier.

As of Feb. 14, 2026, AutoZone had cash and cash equivalents of $285.5 million, up from $271.8 million as of Aug. 30, 2025. Total debt stood at $8.9 billion as of Feb. 14, 2026, compared with $8.79 billion as of Aug. 30, 2025.

The company repurchased 85,000 shares of its common stock for $310.8 million during the fiscal second quarter at an average price of $3,666 per share. At quarter-end, it had $1.4 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.

Peer Releases

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP reported adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2025, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents. The company incurred an adjusted loss of $1.18 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Advance Auto generated net revenues of $1.97 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.95 billion. Comparable store sales increased 1.1% year over year. We expected a rise of 3.3% for the same. The top line, however, decreased from $1.99 billion generated in the year-ago quarter.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. ORLY reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (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.

During the quarter, comparable store sales grew 5.6%, and the company opened 47 stores in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The total store count was 6,585 as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Free Report: Profiting from the 2nd Wave of AI Explosion

The next phase of the AI explosion is poised to create significant wealth for investors, especially those who get in early. It will add literally trillion of dollars to the economy and revolutionize nearly every part of our lives.

Investors who bought shares like Nvidia at the right time have had a shot at huge gains.

But the rocket ride in the "first wave" of AI stocks may soon come to an end. The sharp upward trajectory of these stocks will begin to level off, leaving exponential growth to a new wave of cutting-edge companies.

Zacks' AI Boom 2.0: The Second Wave report reveals 4 under-the-radar companies that may soon be shining stars of AI’s next leap forward.

Access AI Boom 2.0 now, absolutely free >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY): Free Stock Analysis Report

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP): Free Stock Analysis Report

AutoZone, Inc. (AZO): Free Stock Analysis Report

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

Zacks Investment Research