AutoZone Q1 Earnings Beat Views

reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal first quarter on Tuesday. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company posted quarterly net income of $258.1 million, or $8.29 per share, compared to $238.3 million, or $7.27 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its revenue rose 5.6 percent year-over-year to $2.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of 8.24 per share on revenue of $2.39 billion. The average estimate among 40 Estimize users was for earnings of $8.23 per share and revenue of $2.39 billion. Domestic same store sales surged 3.5 percent for the quarter. Its gross profit, as a percentage of sales, widened to 52.5 percent from 52.1 percent. Under its share repurchase program, the company repurchased 537 thousand shares of its common stock during the first quarter at an average price of $746 per share. "We are pleased to report our thirty-seventh consecutive quarter of double digit earnings per share growth. Our strong culture enables us to provide exceptional customer service which is a key point of differentiation. We continued implementation of our inventory availability initiatives. At the end of the quarter, we have expanded our increased frequency of distribution center deliveries initiative to just under 1,000 domestic AutoZone stores and expect by the end of the fiscal year to be servicing approximately 2,000 of our over 5,000 domestic AutoZone stores," said Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. AutoZone shares fell 0.97 percent to close at $753.58 yesterday.