AutoZone (AZO) Stock Jumps 2% After Earnings Beat Despite Weak Same-Store Sales

TLDR

• AutoZone posted Q4 EPS of $56.05, beating the analyst consensus of around $54
• Net sales grew 5.6% to $6.59 billion, but missed the $6.7 billion forecast
• Same-store sales rose just 1.5%, well below the 3.8% Wall Street expected
• AZO stock rose 2.1% to $2,862 in premarket trading on Tuesday
• For the full fiscal year, AutoZone opened 374 new stores and reported $20.3 billion in annual sales

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AutoZone stock was trading up 2.1% to $2,862 in premarket trading on Tuesday after the auto-parts retailer beat earnings expectations but missed on revenue and same-store sales.

AutoZone, Inc., AZO

The company reported Q4 EPS of $56.05, up from $48.71 a year ago, topping the analyst consensus of around $54. Net sales grew 5.6% to $6.59 billion, coming in below the $6.7 billion Wall Street had expected.

Same-store sales rose 1.5% on a constant currency basis, a notable miss versus the 3.8% increase analysts were looking for. Domestic same-store sales came in at 1.6%.

AutoZone, $AZO, Q4-26.

Profit beat, but sales missed. Margin tailwinds did the heavy lifting.

🔴 Revenue: $6.59B | vs. $6.71B est.
🟢 Diluted EPS: $56.05 | vs. $54.30 est.
📈 Gross margin: 53.3% | +182 bps YoY
💸 Buybacks: $697.5M pic.twitter.com/PgEvZqQaqr

— EarningsTime (@Earnings_Time) September 22, 2026

Despite the sales miss, gross margin expanded 182 basis points to 53.3%. That improvement was driven partly by a 145 basis point benefit from tariff refunds and a 105 basis point non-cash LIFO impact. Higher commercial mix partially offset those gains.

Operating expenses as a percentage of sales rose to 33.4% from 32.4% a year ago, with the increase driven by growth initiatives.

Net income came in at $931.6 million, up from $837 million in the same quarter last year.

CEO Points to Tough Start, Stronger Finish

CEO Phil Daniele pointed to a rough start to the quarter. “In spite of a difficult selling environment the first eight weeks of our quarter, we remained committed to executing on our strategies to grow both our domestic and international businesses,” he said.

Daniele added that sales results strengthened over the final eight weeks of the quarter and that the company feels well positioned for sales growth heading into fiscal 2027.

Wall Street appeared to focus on the earnings beat rather than the revenue miss. The result was seen as a positive signal compared to more cautious messaging from AutoZone’s competitors, as higher interest rates and elevated gasoline prices have weighed on consumer spending.

Fellow auto-parts retailers also moved higher on the news. O’Reilly Automotive rose 0.2% and Advance Auto Parts gained 0.8% in early trading.

A Tough Year for AZO Stock

Before Tuesday’s premarket bounce, AZO stock had fallen 6.3% in September alone and was down 17% for the year through Monday’s close.

AutoZone ended Monday’s session down 1.8%, so Tuesday’s premarket move was a meaningful reversal.

For the full fiscal year, the company opened 374 new stores and posted annual sales of $20.3 billion, up 7.4% year over year.

The fiscal fourth quarter ended August 29, 2026.