William Blair Forecasts AutoZone’s Q2 Earnings (NYSE:AZO)

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – William Blair cut their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of AutoZone in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now expects that the company will post earnings of $28.45 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $28.68. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $155.79 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for AutoZone’s Q3 2025 earnings at $38.88 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $53.13 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AZO. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,339.25.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,345.71 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3,142.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,059.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $32.55 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after acquiring an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 319.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,375,000 after purchasing an additional 27,580 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.