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Diluted earnings per share of $38.07 cleared Wall Street's bar when AutoZone $AZO -0.92% disclosed fiscal third-quarter net income of $641.5 million on Tuesday. Zacks Investment Research's survey of 11 analysts had pegged the consensus at $36.18 per share, the Associated Press reported.
Net sales for the 12-week quarter ended May 9, 2026, rose 8.4% year over year to $4.84 billion, the company said. On the top line, the $4.86 billion consensus among eight Zacks-surveyed analysts went unmet, the Associated Press noted.
Domestic same-store sales grew 4.1% in the quarter, while total company same-store sales rose 3.9% on a constant-currency basis. Both do-it-yourself and commercial sales grew domestically, President and CEO Phil Daniele said in a statement. Operating profit climbed 6.6% to $923.8 million, pushing the company's operating margin above 19% for the quarter.
Gross profit as a percentage of sales came in at 52.2%, a decrease of 57 basis points versus the prior year. The company said the decline was driven by a 77 basis point non-cash LIFO impact, partially offset by other gross margin improvements. Operating expenses as a percentage of sales fell to 33.1% from 33.3% a year earlier, helped by sales growth and expense management.
