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Advance Auto Parts Gets a Lift From Upbeat EarningsAdvance Auto Parts Gets a Lift From Upbeat EarningsRivas, Teresa.Barron's (Online); New York Advance Auto Parts is rising early Wednesday, following a better-than-expected fiscal first quarter. Advance Auto (AAP) said it earned $185.9 million, or $2.81 a share, up from from 63 cents a share in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, which strips out nonrecurring items, earnings were $3.34 a share. Revenue rose 23% year over year to $3.33 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $3.05 from revenue of $3.3 billion. The company had raised its financial forecasts for the first quarter at an investor day in April. Same-store sales climbed nearly 25%, above the 22.4% consensus estimate. For the full year, the change now expects growth in comparable-store sales of between 4% and 6%, up from prior guidance of 2% to 4%. Analysts had expected an increase of 5%. Advance Auto was up 1% to $196.50 in premarket trading. The shares have gained 23.6% year to date and are up 36.8% in the past 12 months. The news comes after peers O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) and AutoZone (AZO) also announced upbeat quarters in recent weeks, although that didn't help the latter stock . Shares of O'Reilly are up nearly 4% since Barron's recommended them in mid-April. Advance Auto's quarter contained similar bright spots. The company noted that comparable sales growth continued apace, rising in the mid-teens through the first four weeks of the current fiscal second quarter. Gross margins came in ahead of expectations and management said that both do-it-yourself and professional customers were behind the upbeat results. Although auto parts retailers as a whole did well throughout the pandemic, many investors see more strength to come, as miles driven return to pre-pandemic levels and supply shortages encourage consumers to repair rather than replace their vehicles. |
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