O’Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) stock fell 0.50% (As on February 6, 11:23:06 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates, while providing weaker-than-expected guidance for 2025. Gross profit for the fourth quarter increased 7% to $2.10 billion (or 51.3% of sales) from $1.97 billion (or 51.3% of sales) for the same period one year ago. Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) for the fourth quarter increased 9% to $1.36 billion (or 33.3% of sales) from $1.25 billion (or 32.6% of sales) for the same period one year ago. SG&A expenses for the fourth quarter included a charge of $35 million to adjust reserves relating to the self-insurance liabilities for historic auto liability claims.  Operating income for the fourth quarter increased 3% to $739 million (or 18.0% of sales) from $719 million (or 18.8% of sales) for the same period one year ago. Net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024, decreased $1 million to $551 million (or 13.5% of sales) from $553 million (or 14.4% of sales) for the same period one year ago. O’Reilly opened 198 net new stores in 2024, meeting its target. The company plans to open 200 to 210 new stores in 2025, aiming for a comparable store sales growth range of 2% to 4%.

ORLY in the fourth quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $9.50, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $9.73. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 7 percent to $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $4.04 billion. Comparable store sales growth was 4.4% in Q4, bringing full-year comparable sales growth to 2.9%

Additionally, subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter, the Company repurchased an additional 0.1 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $1,232.37, for a total investment of $181 million. The Company had approximately $2.31 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorizations.

For fiscal 2025, O’Reilly forecasts earnings per share between $42.60 and $43.10, below the $45.04 analysts were expecting. The company projects revenue of $17.4 billion to $17.7 billion, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.59 billion. For fiscal 2025, O’Reilly expects Capital expenditures to be between $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion and Free cash flow to be in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion.