Autozone Inc (NYSE:AZO) stock rose 0.52% (As on March 5, 11:33:24 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted lower than expected results for the second quarter of FY25. In the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.05 billion, up from $980.1 million recorded in the year-ago period. Domestic same-store sales (sales at stores open at least for a year) were up 1.9%. Gross profit increased to $2.12 billion from the prior-year quarter’s $2.08 billion. Operating profit decreased 4.8% year over year to $706.8 million. During the quarter, AutoZone opened 28 new stores in the United States. It opened 13 new stores in Mexico and four in Brazil. It exited the quarter with 6,483 stores in the United States, 813 in Mexico and 136 in Brazil. The total store count was 7,432 as of Feb. 15, 2025. Its inventory increased 10.3% year over year in the reported quarter. At quarter-end, the inventory per store was $877,000 compared with $830,000 a year ago. As of Feb. 15, 2025, AutoZone had cash and cash equivalents of $300.9 million, up from $298.2 million as of Aug. 31, 2024. Its total debt amounted to $9.05 billion as of Feb. 15, 2025, compared with $9.02 billion as of Aug. 31, 2024. Net income for the quarter decreased 5.3% over the same period last year to $487.9 million.

Further, for the quarter, gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was flat to last year at 53.9%. Current year gross margin benefited from higher merchandise margins offset by last year benefiting 36 basis points from a non-cash LIFO adjustment. Operating expenses, as a percentage of sales, were 36.0% versus last year at 34.6%.

AZO in the second quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $28.29, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $29.16, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 2.4 percent to $3.95 billion in the second quarter of FY25, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $3.99 billion. Commercial sales growth accelerated, increasing 7.3% versus Q2 FY24. The company have a Commercial Program in 92% of Domestic Stores.

Additionally, the company repurchased 100,000 shares of its common stock for $329.4 million during the fiscal second quarter at an average price of $3,291 per share. At quarter-end, it had $1.3 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.