Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) reported adjusted earnings of $2.10 per share in first-quarter 2018 (ended Apr 21, 2018), up from $1.60 in the prior-year quarter. Also, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98. Adjusted operating income increased to $224.1 million from $204.9 million in first-quarter 2017.
Advance Auto Parts reported net revenues of $2.87 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.91 billion. Revenues were 0.6% lower than the year-ago quarter. During the quarter under review, comparable store sales were down 0.8% year over year.
Gross profit was $1.27 billion in the reported quarter, almost in line with the prior-year period. Gross Profit margin increased 32 basis points year over year to 44.3%.
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses totaled $1.05 billion or 36.5% of sales compared with $1.07 billion or 36.9% of sales in the year-ago period.
Financial Position
Advance Auto Parts had cash and cash equivalents of $639 million as of Apr 21, 2018, up from $547 million as of Dec 30, 2017. The total long-term debt was $1.04 billion as of Apr 21, 2018, almost unchanged from the figure released on Dec 30, 2017.
In first-quarter 2018, operating cash flow was $154 million compared with $35.1 million in the same period of 2017.
Dividend
On May 15, 2018, Advance Auto Parts’ board approved a cash dividend of 6 cents per share to be paid on Jul 6, 2018, for shareholders of record as of Jun 22, 2018.
Store Update
As of Apr 21, 2018, Advance Auto Parts operated 5,044 stores and 131 Worldpac branches and served approximately 1,225 independently-owned Carquest stores.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Advance Auto Parts currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) and BMW AG BAMXF, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
General Motors has an expected long-term growth rate of 5.5%. Shares of the company have risen 14.7% over the past year.
Magna International has an expected long-term growth rate of 8.5%. In a year’s time, shares of the company have gained 47.9%.
BMW has an expected long-term growth rate of 4.5%. Shares of the company have risen 10.2% over the past year.
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