Financial Performance - AutoZone reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $48.71, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $50.91 [1] - Quarterly sales were $6.242 billion, a 0.6% year-over-year increase, but fell short of the expected $6.245 billion [1] - Adjusted sales, excluding an additional week from the previous year, increased by 6.9% [2] - Total company same-store sales rose by 5.1%, with domestic same-store sales increasing by 4.8% [2] - Gross margin decreased to 51.5%, down 98 basis points year-over-year, impacted by a non-cash LIFO headwind [2] - Operating profit decreased by 7.8% to $1.2 billion, and net income for the quarter was $837.0 million compared to $902.2 million in the prior year [3] Shareholder Actions - The company repurchased 117,000 shares in the fourth quarter at an average price of $3,821, totaling a buyback outlay of $446.7 million [3] - AutoZone exited the quarter with cash and equivalents amounting to $271.803 million [5] Expansion and Strategy - In the quarter ended August 30, 2025, AutoZone opened 91 new stores in the U.S., 45 in Mexico, and 6 in Brazil, totaling 141 net new stores [4] - The international unit reported constant-currency same-store sales growth of 7.2% [4] - The company plans to aggressively open more stores in the upcoming year to enhance market share [5]
AutoZone Plans Aggressive Store Expansion To Capture Market Share