Autozone Inc (NYSE:AZO) stock rose 0.66% (As on December 7, 11:32:00 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the first quarter of FY 23. The net income for the first quarter decreased to $539.32 million from $555.24 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit decreased 4.2% to $723.0 million. The Company’s inventory increased 17.6% over the same period last year, driven by inflation and our growth initiatives.  The Company’s inventory increased 17.6% over the same period last year, driven by inflation and our growth initiatives. Net inventory, defined as merchandise inventories less accounts payable, on a per store basis, was negative $249 thousand versus negative $207 thousand last year and negative $240 thousand last quarter. The Company’s inventory increased 17.6% over the same period last year, driven by inflation and our growth initiatives. Net inventory, defined as merchandise inventories less accounts payable, on a per store basis, was negative $249 thousand versus negative $207 thousand last year and negative $240 thousand last quarter. During the quarter ended November 19, 2022, AutoZone opened 28 new stores in the U.S., opened three stores in Mexico and four stores in Brazil. As of November 19, 2022, the Company had 6,196 stores in the U.S., 706 in Mexico and 76 in Brazil for a total store count of 6,978.

AZO in the first quarter of FY 23 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $27.45, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $25.27, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 8.6 percent to $3.99 billion in the first quarter of FY 23 quarter of FY 22, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $3.86 billion. For the quarter, gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was 50.1%, a decrease of 242 basis points versus the prior year. The decrease in gross margin was driven by a 203 basis point ($81 million) non-cash LIFO charge driven primarily by rising freight costs, with the remaining deleverage primarily from accelerated growth in the Commercial business. Operating expenses, as a percentage of sales, were flat to last year at 31.9%.

Under the share repurchase program, the company had repurchased 392 thousand shares of the common stock for $900.0 million during the first quarter, at an average price of $2,295 per share. At quarter end, the company had $2.7 billion remaining under the current share repurchase authorization.