Shares of AutoZone Inc. fell 1.5% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the auto parts retailer missed profit and same-store sales expectations, but beat on revenue. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 10 rose to $289.5 million, or $10.38 a share, from $237.1 million, or $8.08 a share, in the same period a year ago, as recent tax legislation increased net income by $171.4 million. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $8.47, below the FactSet consensus of $8.79. Revenue rose to $2.41 billion from $2.39 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.39 billion, but domestic same-store sales growth of 2.2% missed expectations of a 2.7% rise. Domestic commercial same-store sales increased 5.7%, above the FactSet consensus of 5.6%. Inventory increased 4.7%, as the domestic store count increased 3.1% to 5,514. Separately, the company said it will sell its IMC and AutoAnything businesses after a strategic review determined the businesses serve niche markets that are not priorities going forward. The stock has run up 15.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.9%.
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