AutoZone beats by $0.06, beats on revs
Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $12.75 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $12.69; revenues rose 7.9% year/year to $3.29 bln vs the $3.25 bln consensus.
- Q4 gross margin was 52.5% (versus 52.3% for the same period last year).
- The improvement in gross margin was attributable to higher merchandise margins, partially offset by higher supply chain costs associated with current year inventory initiatives (-24 bps), and the impact of the Interamerican Motor Corporation (IMC) acquisition finalized during September, 2014 (-24 bps).
- Co will begin implementing our new supply chain strategy now and complete it in a few years.