Overview
- On Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, AutoZone reported fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share of $56.05, beating the roughly $54 analyst consensus and lifting net income to $931.6 million.
- The company missed on the top line as net sales were $6.59 billion and comparable-store sales rose just 1.5% (1.6% domestic), well below the about 3.8% analysts had expected.
- Gross margin expanded by roughly 182 basis points to 53.3%, with about 145 basis points attributed to tariff refunds and roughly 105 basis points from a non-cash LIFO gain, showing much of the improvement came from one-off items.
- Investors focused on the profit beat and drove AutoZone shares higher in premarket and intraday trading, and the report produced positive read-throughs for Advance Auto Parts and O’Reilly Automotive.
- AutoZone closed the fiscal year having opened 374 stores and posted $20.3 billion in sales, but higher operating expense as a share of sales, ongoing buybacks, and reliance on temporary margin tailwinds make durability and early fiscal 2027 sales trends the key things to watch.