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Is A Beat In The Offing For AutoZone (AZO) Q2 Earnings?

Published 02/27/2020, 08:29 PM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) is set to release fiscal second-quarter 2020 results on Mar 3, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is a profit of $11.87 per share on revenues of $2.58 billion.

The leading provider of automotive replacement parts posted better-than-expected results in the last reported quarter on higher-than-anticipated domestic commercial sales. As far as earnings surprises are concerned, the company displays an excellent record of surpassing estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 7.3%.

Investors are expecting an earnings beat for AutoZone — whose peers include Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) , O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) and CarMax (NYSE:KMX) , among others — this time as well. Encouragingly, our model also indicates the same.

Trend in Estimate Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal second-quarter earnings per share has been downwardly revised by 3 cents in the past seven days. However, it indicates a 3.3% increase from the year-ago reported earnings of 76 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues also indicates year-over-year growth of 5.3%.

Factors to Note

Continued sales growth in both retail DIY (‘Do-It-Yourself) and commercial DIFM (‘Do-It-For-Me) businesses is likely to have boosted the firm’s bottom line in the to-be-reported quarter. Store expansion initiatives, fast delivery and high-quality products are anticipated to have positively impacted the company’s market share, as well as the top line.

AutoZone has been focusing on expansion and development of its supply-chain network to offer products at the local level, wherein customer demand is immediate. In addition, inventory-assortment improvements, technological advancements, strong reputation of the Duralast brand and greater engagement from store-operating teams are likely to have aided the company’s performance in the quarter.

Omnichannel efforts to improve customers’ shopping experience are anticipated to have fetched impressive sales in second-quarter fiscal 2020. AutoZone’s initiatives may have enhanced in-store systems and website traffic, which in turn are likely to have boded well for sales growth. Ship-to-home next day, buy online, pickup in store and commercial customer ordering are expected to have picked pace in the quarter, and increased traffic to the company’s online site.

Indeed, the firm may have borne high capital and operating expenses during the to-be-reported quarter due to the opening of distribution centers, mega hubs and stores; as well astechnology investments. However, solid revenues from the retail and commercial business might have offset high costs in the quarter to be reported.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for AutoZone this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

AutoZone has an Earnings ESP of +0.23% and currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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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

CarMax, Inc. (KMX): Free Stock Analysis Report

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