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Autozone

NYSE: AZO · USD

Autozone (AZO) Economic Moat Analysis—

Avantages concurrentiels, preuves datées et risques d’érosion.

Incertain avantage concurrentiel

AutoZone has demonstrated substantial distribution capacity, same-day access to expanded inventory and supplier-supported working capital. These are current operating strengths, but the passages do not establish a durable cost or service advantage over competitors. Fiscal 2026 sales and earnings growth support continued execution; pricing power remains unproven because price realization is not separated from demand and mix. Margin changes reflect LIFO, tariff refunds and commercial mix, while declining capital returns warrant monitoring without proving competitive erosion.

Cost advantage

Candidate advantage: the existing hub network pools expanded inventory across stores, supported by proprietary inventory visibility and accounts payable exceeding inventory. These capabilities are demonstrated; superior delivered costs or service relative to rivals are not established.

Durabilité
The network existed across successive annual disclosures and expanded from 109 domestic mega hubs in fiscal 2024 to 133 in fiscal 2025. Replication requires inventory, facilities and execution, but the passages do not establish competitors' replication costs or a defensible duration.
Concurrents
Comparaison non établie
Risques d’érosion
Customers can compare prices and availability online. Competitors may have stronger sourcing capabilities. Supplier funding has weakened on a per-store basis, and expansion requires continuing investment. These risks coexist with fiscal 2026 sales and profit growth.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
The candidate thesis would be undermined by sustained deterioration in availability or delivery performance alongside lost customer demand, by evidence that competitors match service at lower delivered cost, or by supplier terms tightening enough to eliminate the working-capital benefit. Conversely, sustained comparative service and cost results would help establish the currently uncertain moat.
Preuves (6) · Contre-preuves (4)

Évolution depuis la dernière analyse

  • Retain the previous uncertain verdict: current operating strengths still lack evidence establishing a durable relative advantage.
  • Update the operating assessment through fiscal 2026: sales rose 7.4%, operating profit rose 3.1%, and annual gross margin declined modestly. Fourth-quarter margin improvement included tariff refunds and LIFO effects, so it does not establish stronger pricing power.
  • Add assessments supported by actual proxy compensation and governance disclosures, and explicitly distinguish management market-share claims from comparative evidence.

Limites de l’analyse

  • All source dates have dateKind filed; filing dates are distinguished from the fiscal periods and events described.
  • No competing company is identified as a competitor in the supplied competitive passages. Company names appearing in director biographies or financing disclosures do not establish competitor coverage.
  • The passages establish network capacity but provide no comparative delivered costs, delivery times, local market concentration or competitor investment requirements.
  • Market-share gains, brand contributions and expected service benefits include issuer assertions without supplied comparative measurements. Generic competitive and technology risks are possibilities, not demonstrated losses.
  • Realized prices, transaction counts, customer cohorts and customer pricing restrictions are not disclosed sufficiently to isolate pricing power. Same-store sales provide indirect repeat-demand evidence only.
  • The proxy supplies actual incentive and governance arrangements, but the supplied ownership-table passages omit individual holdings and compliance data. Scheduled future transitions are not assumed completed.
  • Fiscal 2026 release figures are issuer-reported results. Earlier release cash-flow and capital-spending figures differ from the subsequently filed quarterly report; no conclusion relies on treating those earlier figures as interchangeable.
  • No exceptional durability is established, and no grade of 4 is assigned.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse

Ratios calculés à partir des publications annuelles. Une valeur manquante reste indisponible. Les graphiques détaillés sont accessibles dans les autres onglets.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse
PériodeGross marginOperating marginROICFCF margin
202152.8%20.1%89.1%19.8%
202252.1%20.1%110.3%15.6%
202352.0%19.9%102.1%12.3%
202453.1%20.5%85.0%10.4%
202552.6%19.1%62.6%9.5%

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

  • Pricing outcomes

    Sales and same-store growth combine demand and pricing. No supplied passage isolates observed price realization, discount intensity or pass-through.

  • Customer demand

    Positive fiscal 2025 same-store sales and subsequent annual sales growth provide indirect evidence of recurring demand. They do not identify retained customers, repeat-purchase rates or retention following price changes; online comparison limits confidence in loyalty.

  • Margin resilience

    Fiscal 2026 gross margin declined from 52.6% to 52.3% while operating profit grew. LIFO, tariff refunds and commercial mix materially affected results, supporting mixed resilience rather than demonstrated pricing strength.

  • Pricing freedom

    The supplied passages do not establish customer contract repricing rights or restrictions. Retail sales accounting and supplier financing alone cannot establish freedom to change customer prices and terms.

Management69

  • Capital discipline

    Fiscal 2026 operating cash flow of about $3.3 billion supported about $1.5 billion of capital spending, but $2.0 billion of repurchases exceeded the remaining operating cash flow. Shares outstanding declined and interim adjusted leverage remained stable, while annual adjusted ROIC fell from 41.3% to 35.8%. Actual outcomes support mixed discipline; repurchase value and expansion paybacks are unproven.

  • Incentive alignment

    Disclosed compensation links to economic profit, ROIC, adjusted EBIT and stock price, with a minimum economic-profit hurdle and multiyear option vesting. These are actual arrangements, not merely proposed awards. Adjustment discretion and missing ownership amounts limit the assessment.

  • Execution

    Hub expansion, increased domestic commercial-program coverage, cash generation and fiscal 2026 sales and profit growth demonstrate execution through operating results. Customer-service effectiveness is partly inferred from these outcomes. International results below plan and declining ROIC temper the grade; management's market-share statements are not treated as independently demonstrated gains.

  • Governance

    Independent standing committees, defined lead independent director powers and elimination of the incentive modifier in response to feedback support functioning oversight. Board discretion over director resignations limits shareholder enforcement. These disclosures support strong governance practices, without establishing exceptional effectiveness.

Sources et méthode

Publication courante · Mis à jour 19/10/2026 · Version 5

Interprétation IA fondée sur des extraits vérifiés. Les déclarations de l’entreprise et les limites de couverture restent explicites.

Méthode quality-scores-2 : six catégories de même poids. Le score global exige une couverture complète. Les données manquantes ne valent pas zéro. Les évaluations qualitatives sont des interprétations sourcées, pas des probabilités. 4/6 · 22/10/2026

Moat—

Insufficient evidence for every rubric criterion; no category score is inferred.

structural advantage · — · Inventory pooling and supplier-supported working capital are demonstrated capabilities, but comparative cost or service superiority is not established.

durability · — · Successive disclosures show an expanding network, but do not establish a durable barrier to competitors replicating its economics.

customer dependency · — · Same-store growth supports demand, but customer dependence, switching friction and unique supplier status are not established.

erosion resilience · — · Fiscal 2026 growth counters an assumption of realized competitive weakness. Lower capital returns and weaker supplier funding warrant monitoring, while electric vehicles and diagnostic restrictions remain potential threats.

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Insufficient evidence for every rubric criterion; no category score is inferred.

realized pricing · — · Sales and same-store growth combine demand and pricing. No supplied passage isolates observed price realization, discount intensity or pass-through.

retention · 2/4 · Positive fiscal 2025 same-store sales and subsequent annual sales growth provide indirect evidence of recurring demand. They do not identify retained customers, repeat-purchase rates or retention following price changes; online comparison limits confidence in loyalty.

margin resilience · 2/4 · Fiscal 2026 gross margin declined from 52.6% to 52.3% while operating profit grew. LIFO, tariff refunds and commercial mix materially affected results, supporting mixed resilience rather than demonstrated pricing strength.

contractual freedom · — · The supplied passages do not establish customer contract repricing rights or restrictions. Retail sales accounting and supplier financing alone cannot establish freedom to change customer prices and terms.

Prévisibilité99

Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.

Nondeclining revenue years (%)
100.00
Revenue growth volatility (pp)
3.11
Positive FCF years (%)
100.00
FCF margin volatility (pp)
3.78

Solidité financière41

Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.

debtFcfGrade
43.67
netDebtEbitGrade
52.49
interestCoverageGrade
57.88
currentRatioGrade
10.10
Debt / FCF (x)
4.94
Net debt / operating income (x)
2.38
Interest coverage (x)
7.37
Current ratio (x)
0.88

Allocation du capital94

Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.

3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
104.31
3-year average dilution (%)
-5.81
3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
0.59
cashConversionGrade
76.29

Qualité du management69

Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.

capital discipline · 2/4 · Fiscal 2026 operating cash flow of about $3.3 billion supported about $1.5 billion of capital spending, but $2.0 billion of repurchases exceeded the remaining operating cash flow. Shares outstanding declined and interim adjusted leverage remained stable, while annual adjusted ROIC fell from 41.3% to 35.8%. Actual outcomes support mixed discipline; repurchase value and expansion paybacks are unproven.

incentive alignment · 3/4 · Disclosed compensation links to economic profit, ROIC, adjusted EBIT and stock price, with a minimum economic-profit hurdle and multiyear option vesting. These are actual arrangements, not merely proposed awards. Adjustment discretion and missing ownership amounts limit the assessment.

execution · 3/4 · Hub expansion, increased domestic commercial-program coverage, cash generation and fiscal 2026 sales and profit growth demonstrate execution through operating results. Customer-service effectiveness is partly inferred from these outcomes. International results below plan and declining ROIC temper the grade; management's market-share statements are not treated as independently demonstrated gains.

governance · 3/4 · Independent standing committees, defined lead independent director powers and elimination of the incentive modifier in response to feedback support functioning oversight. Board discretion over director resignations limits shareholder enforcement. These disclosures support strong governance practices, without establishing exceptional effectiveness.

Preuves

Stores are replenished primarily by the nearest distribution center but also typically have same-day access to one of our 367 domestic and 53 international hub stores’ expanded inventory assortment.

Item 1, Store Operations: same-day access to hub inventory · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Hub stores carry approximately 40,000 to 50,000 unique SKUs and mega hub stores carry approximately 80,000 to 110,000 unique SKUs with 70% to 85% of their space utilized for hard parts.

Item 1, Store Formats: hub and mega hub assortment · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Z-net provides parts information based on year, make, model and engine type of a vehicle and also tracks inventory availability at the store, at other nearby stores and through special order.

Item 1, Store Automation: inventory visibility · Dépôt 27/10/2025

As a subset of our domestic hub stores, we ended fiscal 2024 with 109 mega hub stores, an increase of 11 since the end of fiscal 2023.

Item 1, Store Operations: fiscal 2024 mega hub count · Dépôt 28/10/2024

As a subset of our domestic hub stores, we ended fiscal 2025 with 133 mega hub stores, an increase of 24 since the end of fiscal 2024.

Item 1, Store Operations: fiscal 2025 mega hub count · Dépôt 27/10/2025

We had an accounts payable to inventory ratio of 111.1% at May 9, 2026, and 115.6% at May 10, 2025.

MD&A, Liquidity and Capital Resources: accounts payable to inventory · Dépôt 12/06/2026

​ With the increasing use of digital tools, our customers often begin their shopping experience online and are quickly able to compare prices, product assortment, product availability and feedback from other customers before purchasing products.

Item 1A, Competition: online comparison · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Although we believe we compete effectively, our competitors may have greater financial resources allowing them to invest more in their business, greater sourcing capabilities allowing them to sell merchandise at lower prices, larger stores with more merchandise, longer operating histories with deeper customer relationships, more frequent customer visits, more effective advertising and more successful utilization of data analytics, artificial intelligence and other new and emerging technologies.

Item 1A, Competition: possible competitor capabilities · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Net inventory, defined as merchandise inventories less accounts payable, on a per store basis, was negative $107 thousand versus negative $131 thousand last year and negative $107 thousand last quarter.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: net inventory per store · Dépôt 22/09/2026

(203,281 (190,588 Adjusted after-tax return $ 3,342,130 $ 3,246,514 Average debt(3) $ 8,884,947 $ 8,948,381 Average stockholders' deficit(3) (2,967,742 (4,253,805 Add: Rent x 6(1) 3,000,120 2,778,186 Average financing lease liabilities(3) 415,701 396,323 Invested capital $ 9,333,026 $ 7,869,085 Adjusted After-Tax ROIC 35.8 % 41.3 % (1)The table below outlines the calculation of rent expense and reconciles rent expense to total lease cost, per ASC 842, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for the 52 weeks ended August 29, 2026, and August 30, 2025.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: adjusted ROIC reconciliation · Dépôt 22/09/2026

For the fiscal year ended August 29, 2026, net sales were $20.3 billion, an increase of 7.4% from the prior year.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: annual net sales · Dépôt 22/09/2026

Operating profit increased 3.1% to $3.7 billion, net income increased 3.0% to $2.6 billion and diluted earnings per share increased 5.3% to $152.55 from $144.87.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: annual operating profit and earnings · Dépôt 22/09/2026

Gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was 52.3% versus last year at 52.6%.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: annual gross margin · Dépôt 22/09/2026

The decrease in gross margin was impacted by a 61 basis point net non-cash LIFO impact, partially offset by a 48 basis point benefit from tariff refunds.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: LIFO and tariff refund effects · Dépôt 22/09/2026

The increase in gross margin was driven by a 145 basis point impact from tariff refunds and a 105 basis point net non-cash LIFO impact, partially offset by higher commercial mix.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: fourth-quarter gross margin drivers · Dépôt 22/09/2026

All this while we built upon our exceptional prior-period performance by delivering $18.9 billion in sales, domestic same store sales growth of 3.2%, international same store sales growth (on a constant currency basis) of 9.33% and total company same store sales growth (on a constant currency basis) of 3.9%.

2025 proxy, operating review: same-store sales results · Dépôt 28/10/2025

Same store sales are impacted both by customer demand levels and by the prices we are able to charge for our products, which can also be negatively impacted by economic pressures.

Item 1A, Growth: demand and pricing contributions to same-store sales · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Other Selected Financial Information (in thousands) August 29, 2026 Cumulative share repurchases ($ since fiscal 1998) $ 40,543,302 $ 38,517,689 Remaining share repurchase authorization ($) 1,606,698 632,311 Cumulative share repurchases (shares since fiscal 1998) 156,208 155,629 Shares outstanding, end of quarter 16,173 16,665 16 Weeks Ended 16 Weeks Ended 52 Weeks Ended 52 Weeks Ended August 29, 2026 August 29, 2026 Depreciation and amortization $ 220,139 $ 197,412 $ 684,265 $ 613,199 Cash flow from operations 1,183,259 990,819 3,302,846 3,155,401 Capital spending 498,769 479,698 1,496,255 1,365,321 Selected Operating Highlights Store Count & Square Footage 16 Weeks Ended 16 Weeks Ended 52 Weeks Ended 52 Weeks Ended August 29, 2026 August 29, 2026 Domestic: Beginning stores 6,766 6,537 6,627 6,432 Stores opened 97 91 236 196 Stores closed (1 (1 Ending domestic stores 6,863 6,627 6,863 6,627 Relocated stores Stores with commercial programs 6,443 6,098 6,443 6,098 Square footage (in thousands) 45,934 44,138 45,934 44,138 Mexico: Beginning stores 933 838 883 794 Stores opened 68 45 118

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: cash generation, capital spending, shares and domestic commercial programs · Dépôt 22/09/2026

For the fiscal year, the Company repurchased 579 thousand shares of its common stock, at an average price of $3,496, for a total investment of $2.0 billion.

Fiscal 2026 earnings release: completed annual repurchases · Dépôt 22/09/2026

Our adjusted debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, rent and share-based compensation expense (“EBITDAR”) ratio, which is a non-GAAP measure, was 2.5:1 as of May 9, 2026, and May 10, 2025.

MD&A, Capital Resources: realized adjusted leverage · Dépôt 12/06/2026

​ Most Important Financial Performance Measures: Economic Profit; Return on Invested Capital; Adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes; and Stock Price.

2025 proxy, Pay versus Performance: measures linking compensation to performance · Dépôt 28/10/2025

Performance Hurdle. The annual incentive plan is subject to a pre-established threshold or hurdle such that no annual incentive awards are paid out unless the Company achieves 90% of target Economic Profit.

2025 proxy, Annual Incentive Plan: economic profit payout hurdle · Dépôt 28/10/2025

Option-vesting periods range from four to five years, with the majority of options vesting ratably over four years.

Share-based Payments: actual option vesting terms · Dépôt 12/06/2026

The Compensation Committee may (but is not required to) adjust for the effect of one-time charges and extraordinary events such as asset write-downs, litigation judgments or settlements, changes in tax laws, accounting principles or other laws or provisions affecting reported results, accruals for reorganization or restructuring, and any other extraordinary non-recurring items, acquisitions or divestitures and any foreign exchange gains or losses on the calculation of performance.

2025 proxy, Annual Incentive Plan: committee adjustment discretion · Dépôt 28/10/2025

​ ​ ​ ​ CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ● Board Leadership consists of Executive Chairman and Lead Independent Director ● Intentional Board refreshment and succession planning resulted in two new independent candidates to further enhance the Board’s diverse skillset ● Disciplined CEO succession planning resulted in appointment of new President and Chief Executive Officer in FY24 ● Audit, Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees (the “Standing Committees”) made up entirely of Independent Directors ● Use of Third-Party Firm for 2021 and 2024 Board Evaluations ● Review and update of Corporate Governance Principles in FY24 and Committee Charters in FY25 For more information, see: Corporate Governance beginning on page 7.

2025 proxy summary: independent committees and governance practices · Dépôt 28/10/2025

Our Corporate Governance Principles provide our Lead Independent Director with clearly defined responsibilities as follows: ● Presides at all executive sessions of the independent directors of the Board (without management present) at every regularly scheduled Board meeting; ● Chairs Board meetings when the Chairman is not present; ● Works with management to determine the information and materials to be provided to the Board; ● With Executive Chairman, approves Board meeting agendas, schedules, and other information to be provided to the Board; ● Consults with the Executive Chairman and the CEO on such other matters as are pertinent to the Board and the Company; ● Has the authority to call meetings of the independent directors; ● Is available for direct communication and consultation with stockholders upon reasonable request; and ● Serves as a liaison between the Executive Chairman and the independent directors.

2025 proxy, Governance Framework: lead independent director authority · Dépôt 28/10/2025

In response to shareholder feedback, the individual modifier component of the annual incentive plan has been eliminated effective FY25.

2025 proxy, Annual Incentive Plan: implemented response to shareholder feedback · Dépôt 28/10/2025

The Board may consider any factors it deems relevant in deciding whether to accept a director’s resignation.

2025 proxy, Director Elections: discretion over resignation acceptance · Dépôt 28/10/2025

While international performance has been below our plan, we believe our market share continues to grow as we outpace our competition in both international marketplaces.

Fiscal 2026 third-quarter release: international underperformance and management market-share belief · Dépôt 26/05/2026

Based on the data we have, we continued to gain share and we expect sales in each of the three countries in which we operate to accelerate in the new fiscal year.

Fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter release: management market-share claim and growth expectation · Dépôt 22/09/2026

prevalence of electric vehicles. Increased prevalence of electric vehicles, whether due to changes in consumer preferences or regulatory actions incentivizing the purchase of electric vehicles, can result in less frequent parts failures and reduced need for parts.

Item 1A, Demand: potential electric vehicle effects · Dépôt 27/10/2025

restrictions on access to telematics and diagnostic tools and repair information imposed by the original vehicle manufacturers or by governmental regulation.

Item 1A, Demand: potential diagnostic information restrictions · Dépôt 27/10/2025

Historique des publications

Historique des publications
VersionMis à jourAvantage concurrentiel
522/10/2026uncertain
419/10/2026uncertain
318/10/2026uncertain
218/10/2026uncertain
118/10/2026Indisponible

Sources

Méthode et limites de l’analyse · Comprendre ce concept