Advance Auto Parts Increases Sales but Misses Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Advance Auto Parts (NYS: AAP) reported earnings on May 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 21 (Q1), Advance Auto Parts missed estimates on both revenue and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, both revenue and GAAP earnings per share increased.


Gross margins dropped, operating margins expanded, net margins grew.

Revenue details
Advance Auto Parts reported revenue of $1.96 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $2.01 billion on the same basis. GAAP-reported sales were 3.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.9 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $1.79. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.82 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.79 for Q1 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.35 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 50.1%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.5%, 170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.8%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.49 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.52.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.36 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.83.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 236 members rating the stock outperform and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 71 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 67 give Advance Auto Parts a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Advance Auto Parts is hold, with an average price target of $94.47.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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