William Blair Has Negative Estimate for AutoZone Q3 Earnings

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for AutoZone in a report issued on Tuesday, March 4th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now expects that the company will earn $36.50 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $38.88. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $152.94 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for AutoZone’s Q4 2025 earnings at $51.23 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $166.15 EPS.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AZO. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,646.62.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,620.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $60.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,365.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,229.56. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,636.96.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.