Latest news with #commercialsales
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AutoZone Inc (AZO) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Sales Growth Amid Profitability ...
Total Sales: $4.5 billion, up 5.4%. Domestic Same Store Sales: Increased by 5%. International Same Store Sales: Up 8.1% on a constant currency basis, but down 9.2% unadjusted due to currency headwinds. Domestic Commercial Sales Growth: 10.7% year-over-year. Domestic Retail Comp: Just over 3% growth. Earnings Per Share (EPS): Decreased by 3.6% to $35.36. Net Income: $608 million, down 6.6% from the previous year. Gross Margin: 52.7%, down 77 basis points from last year. Operating Expenses: Increased by 8.9%, with SG&A as a percentage of sales deleveraging by 108 basis points. Free Cash Flow: $423 million, compared to $434 million in the previous year. Store Openings: 54 net new domestic stores and 30 new international stores, totaling 979 international stores. Inventory Per Store: Up 6.7% compared to the previous year. Share Repurchase: $250 million worth of stock repurchased, with $1.1 billion remaining under authorization. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with WEJTY. Release Date: May 27, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) reported a 10.7% growth in domestic commercial sales, marking the first double-digit growth since FY23. The company achieved a milestone by surpassing $5 billion in sales on a rolling four-quarter basis for its commercial segment. International constant currency comp sales increased by 8.1%, indicating strong performance outside the US. AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) opened 54 net domestic stores and 30 international stores, showing commitment to expansion. The company is investing heavily in technology and infrastructure, including new distribution centers, to improve customer service and operational efficiency. Earnings per share decreased by 3.6% despite sales growth, indicating pressure on profitability. The company faced a significant 17-point currency headwind, resulting in a negative 9.2% international comp on an unadjusted basis. Gross margin decreased by 77 basis points due to factors like higher commercial mix and distribution center ramp-up costs. Operating expenses increased by 8.9%, leading to a 108 basis point deleverage in SG&A as a percentage of sales. Foreign exchange rates negatively impacted sales by $89 million and EBIT by $27 million, affecting overall financial performance. Q: Could you give us a quick refresher as it relates to the tariffs, source of origin for your primary import countries? And how much is direct import versus via a third-party supplier? A: The biggest net importer where most of our product comes from is China. We've reduced this significantly since the first round of tariffs in 2016. We also source from other Far East countries, Eastern Europe, and Mexico. We manage tariffs through vendor negotiations, diversification of suppliers, and pricing actions. Q: Is the inflation not here yet because people pause shipments coming out of China, and it's just a slow inventory turn business? Or is there more of an effort to absorb the cost into the supply chain? A: Our inventory turns relatively slow, especially hard parts, so the tariff costs haven't shown up yet. There will be an impact on the cost of goods, but we have strategies to mitigate these costs and maintain our margin structure over time. Q: Could you comment on what kind of comp lift you're seeing from your initiatives and market share gains versus the underlying market demand? A: We are seeing share gains across the board in both DIY and commercial. While there is some macro impact, the majority of our growth is from improved execution, hub and mega-hub deployment, and better assortments. Q: Do you think the cost of doing business within the aftermarket has gone up such that it is more difficult to achieve double EPS growth? A: There has been some core inflation in payroll, but we have managed our expenses in line with topline growth. We are in an investment period to grow faster and gain market share, which will ultimately help us achieve double-digit EPS growth. Q: Could you remind us what a typical ramp-up is for Mega Hub and the number of satellite stores a Mega Hub tends to service? A: Satellite stores typically reach maturity around year five. Mega-hubs ramp faster, serving as magnets for traffic and supporting the entire network. The number of satellite stores a mega-hub supports varies, but having additional inventory lifts the entire market. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
08-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
SKB Cases Names Tracy Richardson Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales, Announces Sales Team Optimization
ORANGE, CA, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2025 / / -- SKB Cases has announced the appointment of Tracy Richardson as Senior Vice President of Commercial Accounts. Tracy joins SKB as a seasoned sales leader with nearly two decades of experience driving commercial and government business growth in the rugged protective case and tactical gear industry. 'Tracy's track record of success in this industry is undeniable,' said John Saxon, SKB's CEO. 'We are confident she is the right person to lead SKB's commercial sales team in its mission of delivering the world's best cases—and customer service—to all the diverse markets and verticals we serve.' Most recently, Tracy served as Director of National Sales – US, Commercial and Government Divisions at NANUK, where she spent over five years expanding market share, strengthening key account relationships, and leading national sales strategy. Prior to NANUK, Tracy was Vice President at Westminster Inc., where she led high-performing sales teams and delivered consistent revenue growth. She also held a pivotal sales leadership role at Pelican Products, Inc. for over eight years, managing West Coast commercial sales and building a reputation for deep industry expertise and customer-first focus. 'Tracy brings to SKB a unique blend of strategic vision, tactical execution, and passion for delivering value to end users across a wide range of industries,' shared SKB Cases President and COO, Daniel Jewell. 'We're excited to have her on board as we continue our journey of innovation and growth.' In addition to bringing on Tracy Richardson, SKB will optimize the sales team to shift focus to two strategic divisions: Commercial Accounts and Consumer Accounts. Juana Quezada will now be the VP of Inside Sales and Customer Experience. Starting her career in the accounting department at SKB, Juana has spent more than 30 years in leadership roles across departments. She embodies a wealth of experience in manufacturing and sales processes, and has been fundamental in cultivating the relationships that have been important drivers of SKB's success. In her new role, Juana will serve as the lead for key accounts management and special projects for both Commercial and Consumer Accounts. Heading up the Consumer Sales division is Will Steven, VP of Consumer Accounts. Will started at SKB in 2013 as the product manager for the Music division where he built a reputation for innovative product development that greatly expanded SKB's offerings in Photo/Video and Pro A/V markets, and established SKB as the premier protective case supplier for these customers. In this new role, he will oversee the sales teams for all consumer-focused product verticals, including Music, Pro AV, Photo/Video, and Sports. Steve Kerpan will continue to service the Sporting Goods side of Consumer Accounts as Director of Sports Sales, under Will Steven. Steve joined SKB in 2008, where he helped shape the Sports division by partnering with key industry brands and establishing SKB cases as the customer-favorite protective case for archery and shooting sports. Throughout his tenure at SKB, Steve has worked to develop and maintain critical relationships with brand partners, distributors, dealer networks, and collaborators within the industry to uphold and champion the SKB brand; he will continue to do so as a part of the Consumer Accounts division. ### About SKB Cases: The first SKB case was created in 1977 by Steve Kottman and Dave Sanderson, who engineered what would eventually become the industry's premier lightweight molded guitar case—just the first of many innovations that have since cemented SKB's global reputation as a leading manufacturer of superior equipment transport solutions. Today, under the guidance and leadership of MPE partners, SKB has expanded its operations into three factories with over 500 employees. SKB's innovative solutions can be found on all seven continents, where they help diverse industries around the world to protect their livelihoods, build better products, and get the job done—usually in the toughest environments where protection of sensitive equipment is mission critical. For more information on SKB Cases or SKB products, contact the SKB Sales & Marketing Team at (714) 685-5232 or visit CeeCee Vandiver SKB Cases +1 714-685-5232 email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
