AutoZone

AutoZone’s durable advantage comes from scale, local density, and operational know‑how rather than pure brand. The company operates 7,657 stores across the Americas, with a growing international footprint, and runs a dense commercial delivery network.

Its hubs and mega‑hubs expand same‑day parts availability and enable rapid hot‑shot delivery to shops, which is difficult for online‑only entrants to replicate at comparable fill rates and speed.

In FY25, 6,098 domestic stores ran commercial programs, with commercial sales topping 5.21 billion and average sales per program per week at 16.7 thousand, reinforcing the value of availability and service to DIFM customers. Intangibles like the Duralast private label and the ALLDATA software franchise augment the offer.

Primary moat threats are continued competition from O’Reilly and NAPA in commercial, e‑commerce price transparency, and long‑run EV adoption moderating category growth, though the car parc’s age and mix support relevance for many years.