Advance Auto Parts, Inc. supplies automotive aftermarket parts, including batteries, brakes, chassis, engine, exhaust, ignition, cooling, and steering components, as well as chemicals, accessories, tools, and maintenance products. It also offers services such as battery and wiper installation, engine light scanning, electrical system testing, oil and battery recycling, and a loaner tool program. The company serves professional installers and do-it-yourself customers through stores and independently owned branded stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mexico, and various Caribbean islands, primarily under the Advance Auto Parts and Carquest trade brands, and also sells products online. Founded in 1929, it is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
AAP's Q2 revenue miss and weak same-store sales crush stock despite EPS beat
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Revenue miss and negative same-store sales Advance Auto Parts reported Q2 revenue of $2 billion, missing the $2.04 billion estimate, and same-store sales fell 0.5% versus an expected 1.4% gain. This shows demand is weaker than thought, especially from do-it-yourself customers, and the stock plunged as much as 25%.
This is the core new event that directly caused the stock's sharp decline.
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Earnings beat inflated by one-time tariff refund The headline EPS beat of $1.03 included about $0.31 from a one-time tariff refund. Without that, underlying profit was much weaker, so investors questioned the quality of the beat and sold the stock.
It explains why the earnings beat did not support the stock and adds a negative layer.
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Soft full-year sales guidance The company reaffirmed full-year sales guidance with a midpoint below analyst estimates, signaling that demand may stay weak. This adds to worries about future growth and pressures the stock.
It shows the weak demand is not just a one-quarter issue and affects future expectations.
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Raised EPS guidance and turnaround progress The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $2.60–$3.30 from $2.40–$3.10, and an analyst noted real progress in closing the margin gap with rivals. This offers some support, but it was overshadowed by the revenue miss.
It provides the main counterweight to the negative news and shows the turnaround is not dead.
Q3 2026
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AAP's Q2 revenue miss and weak same-store sales crush stock despite EPS beat
▼
Revenue miss and negative same-store sales Advance Auto Parts reported Q2 revenue of $2 billion, missing the $2.04 billion estimate, and same-store sales fell 0.5% versus an expected 1.4% gain. This shows demand is weaker than thought, especially from do-it-yourself customers, and the stock plunged as much as 25%.
This is the core new event that directly caused the stock's sharp decline.
▼
Earnings beat inflated by one-time tariff refund The headline EPS beat of $1.03 included about $0.31 from a one-time tariff refund. Without that, underlying profit was much weaker, so investors questioned the quality of the beat and sold the stock.
It explains why the earnings beat did not support the stock and adds a negative layer.
▼
Soft full-year sales guidance The company reaffirmed full-year sales guidance with a midpoint below analyst estimates, signaling that demand may stay weak. This adds to worries about future growth and pressures the stock.
It shows the weak demand is not just a one-quarter issue and affects future expectations.
◆
Raised EPS guidance and turnaround progress The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $2.60–$3.30 from $2.40–$3.10, and an analyst noted real progress in closing the margin gap with rivals. This offers some support, but it was overshadowed by the revenue miss.
It provides the main counterweight to the negative news and shows the turnaround is not dead.
AutoZone reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $56.05, beating the $54.30 analyst consensus, while net sales of $6.6 billion fell short of the $6.71 billion expected, sending its shares up 6% to $2,977.26 in Tuesday trading. The profit beat and revenue miss split the market's read, with margin and execution holding up even as the top line failed to clear the bar. Chief Executive Phil Daniele said that despite a difficult selling environment in the first eight weeks of the quarter, sales strengthened over the final eight weeks and the company is well positioned for sales growth in fiscal 2027. The read-across lifted peers that reported nothing of their own: Advance Auto Parts rose 6% to $43.29 and O'Reilly Automotive gained 4% to $86.24, as traders extrapolated AutoZone's results to demand across the aftermarket group. AutoZone shares entered the session down 13% year to date, so the move reads as a recovery off a weak base rather than a fresh breakout, and the sympathy bids in Advance Auto Parts and O'Reilly Automotive will need confirmation from each company's own quarter before the read becomes a confirmed trend.
Advance Auto Parts reported its best quarter in years, with adjusted diluted earnings per share jumping to $1.03 from $0.69 a year earlier and free cash flow turning positive for the first time in two years. Adjusted gross margin expanded 240 basis points to 46.2%, helped by $26 million in tariff refunds, but roughly 110 basis points came from actual product margin improvement. Operating margin reached 5.6%, and even excluding IEEPA refunds, margin expanded by nearly 130 basis points to 4.3%. The company used part of its cash to repurchase about $30 million of debt, pushing net leverage down to 2.1 times, and with roughly $3.1 billion in cash on hand, Moody's and S&P have stabilized their outlooks. However, total comparable sales still fell 0.5%, with DIY sales declining in the low single digits and worsening in the final four weeks of the quarter. Short interest sits at 26.88% of float, and the stock trades at a forward P/E of 17.76, reflecting persistent skepticism about the sustainability of the turnaround.
ScanSource, Advance Auto Parts, Deere, Nordson report quarterly results
ScanSource shares surged 9.7% after the company reported fourth-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.46 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 per share. Advance Auto Parts shares plunged 24.6% after the company reported second-quarter 2026 revenues of $2 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.66%. Deere & Company shares rose 6.9% after the company reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $5.1 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.79 per share. Nordson Corporation shares rose 8% after the company reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.25 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.09 per share.
Advance Auto Parts stock plummets after earnings miss
Advance Auto Parts stock is nosediving after the company's quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations. D.A. Davidson managing director and senior research analyst Michael Baker said the company has been a perpetual turnaround story through many different management teams and years, trying to close the margin gap with O'Reilly. He noted the stock had been up about 45% year to date before giving back a lot of those gains, and that this quarter's big miss is a significant step back. Baker said investors are questioning whether this is the same old Advance Auto Parts turnaround story that never works, though he added that might be a little harsh given the nice progress made and that it is just one quarter.
Walmart, Moderna, Advance Auto Parts lead midday stock movers
Several companies made notable moves in midday trading, led by Walmart, which tumbled 9% after its same-store sales grew 2.6%, short of the 3.5% expected by analysts polled by FactSet, and its earnings per share guidance for the fiscal third quarter and full year fell short of expectations. Deere jumped almost 9% after its fiscal third quarter trounced estimates, earning $5.10 per share on revenue of $11 billion versus LSEG consensus of $4.70 per share and $10.73 billion, and it lifted the lower end of its full-year net income guidance to $4.75 billion to $5 billion. Moderna plunged 25% one day after soaring 177% on promising late-stage trial results for a skin cancer vaccine developed with Merck. Advance Auto Parts slid 25% after posting revenue of $2 billion, short of the $2.04 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG, and a same-store sales decline of 0.5% against an estimated gain of 1.4%. CrowdStrike dropped 4% after Axios reported that chief technology officer Elia Zaitsev is leaving to start an AI-focused cyber venture fund called Cognition.
Pre-Markets Down Despite Strong Claims, Philly Fed
U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Thursday despite strong labor market and manufacturing data, with the Dow down 440 points, the S&P 500 off 44 points, and the Nasdaq down 250 points. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed back to 5.25%, the 10-year to 4.71%, and the 2-year to 4.19%, reversing a brief rally after the Treasury announced liquidity support for long-term bonds. Oil prices remained elevated, with Brent crude at $94 per barrel and WTI at $87 per barrel, as the White House's six-month conflict with Iran continued to pressure global supply. Weekly jobless claims came in at 206,000, below estimates and the lowest since late July, while continuing claims ticked up to 1.799 million. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index surged to 47.4 in August, its highest since April 2021, following July's 41.4. In earnings, Walmart beat expectations with $0.81 per share versus $0.73 but fell 7.5% on weak comps and valuation concerns; Deere rose 1.4% after a 6.5% earnings beat; Advance Auto Parts plunged 18% despite a 27.2% earnings beat due to soft guidance; and Chinese stocks Alibaba, NetEase, and Daqo Energy sold off on disappointing results.
Advance Auto Parts Raises EPS Guidance After Q2 Margin Gains
Advance Auto Parts reported second-quarter 2026 net sales of $2 billion and raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $2.60 to $3.30. Adjusted diluted EPS rose to $1.03 from $0.69 a year earlier, while adjusted operating margin expanded about 260 basis points to 5.6%, aided by $26 million in tariff refunds. The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook for approximately $8.5 billion in net sales and comparable-sales growth of 1% to 2%. CEO Shane O'Kelly said demand was volatile, with Pro sales up low-single digits and DIY sales down low-double digits. Advance Auto Parts also completed its distribution-center consolidation, reducing its network from nearly 40 facilities to 15.
Walmart, Advance Auto Parts, Coty Fall on Disappointing Results
Walmart shares tumbled in premarket trading after the retail giant reported quarterly sales that fell short of expectations, a rare miss likely to stoke concern about the leading big-box retailer decelerating alongside a slow-growing US economy. Advance Auto Parts also sank after reporting second-quarter sales below analyst estimates, even as it boosted its adjusted earnings per share forecast for the full year while maintaining sales guidance that is below estimates at the midpoint. Coty fell after the beauty conglomerate reported fourth-quarter results that beat the average analyst estimate for net revenue but did not provide a full-year forecast, saying it expects to provide a broader outlook following a strategic review.
Advance Auto Parts Plunges 21% as Revenue Miss Overshadows Earnings Beat
Advance Auto Parts shares plunged 21% to $44.33 after the company reported second-quarter 2026 results that paired a headline earnings beat with a revenue miss and negative comparable sales. Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.03 topped the $0.81 consensus by 27.9%, but revenue of $2 billion missed the $2.04 billion estimate and slipped 0.5% year over year, while comparable store sales declined 0.5%. The earnings beat included a one-time $26 million tariff refund worth $0.31 per share, and the company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 net sales of $8.485 billion to $8.575 billion, a midpoint below the $8.58 billion consensus, while raising full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $2.60 to $3.30 from $2.40 to $3.10. AutoZone fell 4% to $2,961, O'Reilly Automotive slipped 2% to $89.57, and Genuine Parts dropped 3% to $131.05 as softening do-it-yourself demand spooked the broader auto parts sector despite no issues with their own results. Advance Auto Parts entered the print up 45% year to date, amplifying the drop as tighter household budgets hit DIY shoppers harder than management anticipated.
Walmart, Moderna, Alibaba lead premarket stock moves
Several companies made notable premarket moves on Thursday. Walmart dropped 6% after its U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, missing the 3.5% FactSet estimate, and its earnings guidance fell short. Crypto stocks rose as Bitcoin and ether surged on President Trump's push for crypto-friendly legislation, with Coinbase up nearly 7% and Strategy jumping 10%. Alibaba fell 3.4% after reporting a 75% drop in quarterly profit due to higher AI spending. Moderna shed 7% a day after soaring 177% on positive late-stage cancer vaccine trial results. Advance Auto Parts tumbled nearly 15% after revenue of $1 billion missed the $2.04 billion LSEG estimate. Coty slipped 14.5% after a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and a warning that fiscal 2027 will be a transition year. Wolfspeed fell 10% after quarterly revenue of $149.6 million missed the $150 million FactSet consensus. NetEase slipped nearly 4% after its quarterly earnings missed analyst estimates.
Deere jumps on upbeat Q3, Wolfspeed plunges on wider loss
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday as investors assessed a fresh batch of corporate earnings and analyst actions. CrowdStrike shares fell 2.8% in premarket trading after Bloomberg reported that the cybersecurity company's chief technology officer is departing to launch an artificial intelligence-focused cybersecurity fund. Advance Auto Parts stock plunged 15.9% after its second-quarter results revealed a significant difference between headline earnings and underlying performance, with about $0.31 of the reported $1.03 adjusted diluted earnings per share coming from one-time tariff refunds. Deere shares jumped 5.1% after the agricultural and construction equipment maker delivered a stronger-than-expected fiscal third quarter, with diluted earnings per share of $5.10 and net sales of about $11 billion. Etsy gained 3.9% in premarket trading after BofA Securities upgraded the online marketplace to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $105 from $88. Ultragenyx surged 11.1% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to GENGLYCOS, also known as DTX401, a gene therapy for glycogen storage disease type Ia in patients aged eight and older. Moderna shares fell 13% in premarket trading, retreating after more than doubling in the previous session following the company's major cancer-vaccine trial announcement with Merck. Wolfspeed plunged 10.5% after the semiconductor company reported a sharply wider-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, with an adjusted loss of $2.26 per share and revenue of $149.6 million. Webull rose 13.8% after the digital brokerage reported its strongest quarterly results since going public, with second-quarter revenue of $198.8 million and adjusted earnings of $0.05 per share.
AAP · Capital · Negative Q2 results showed headline EPS inflated by one-time tariff refunds, revealing weak underlying performance.
BULL · Capital · Positive Strongest quarterly results since going public with revenue and adjusted EPS beating expectations.
DE · Capital · Positive Stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 with EPS of $5.10 and net sales of $11 billion.
ETSY · Capital · Positive Upgraded to Buy from Neutral with price target raised to $105 from $88.
RARE · Regulation · Positive Ultragenyx surged 11.1% after the FDA granted accelerated approval to GENGLYCOS, a gene therapy for glycogen storage disease type Ia.
WOLF · Capital · Negative Wolfspeed plunged 10.5% after reporting a sharply wider-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, with an adjusted loss of $2.26 per share and revenue of $149.6 million.
O'Reilly Automotive reportedly bids for Genuine Parts' auto parts division
O'Reilly Automotive has reportedly made a significant acquisition offer for Genuine Parts' auto parts division, one of two major segments within the diversified distributor. The reported cash bid values the automotive unit at around US$10 billion and would be O'Reilly's largest acquisition since 2008. Following the news, Genuine Parts shares rose about 13% while O'Reilly fell around 5%, reflecting differing market views on the deal's benefits and costs. A sale could accelerate Genuine Parts' planned separation into Global Automotive and Global Industrial by 2027, or replace it entirely, potentially providing funds to reduce debt or reinvest in its Motion industrial segment. For O'Reilly, acquiring the auto parts network would mark a major consolidation step against competitors like AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts, though integration risks remain.
Zacks Highlights O'Reilly and Advance Auto Parts Amid Tough Auto Parts Market
Zacks Equity Research identifies O'Reilly Automotive and Advance Auto Parts as two auto retail parts stocks worth watching despite a challenging industry environment. The Zacks Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry faces headwinds from high interest rates, elevated energy costs, and slow inventory restocking, but benefits from a record average U.S. vehicle age of 12.8 years that supports resilient demand for maintenance and replacement parts. The industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 180, placing it in the bottom 27% of roughly 245 Zacks industries, and its aggregate 2026 earnings estimate has declined 10% over the past year. O'Reilly, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, plans 225-235 net new store openings in 2026 and reaffirmed 3-5% comparable-store sales growth, while Advance Auto, also a Zacks Rank #3, targets 40-45 new stores and 1-2% sales growth in 2026 with improving margins.
AAP · Demand · Neutral Industry benefits from record average vehicle age supporting demand, but Advance Auto's 1-2% sales growth is modest and industry headwinds persist.
ORLY · Demand · Neutral Industry benefits from record average vehicle age supporting demand, but O'Reilly's 3-5% comp sales growth is positive yet industry headwinds and declining earnings estimates weigh.
Advance Auto Parts and OneRail Expand Partnership for Same-Day Delivery
Advance Auto Parts and OneRail announced an expanded partnership to broaden Advance's use of OneRail's delivery orchestration platform for same-day fulfillment across its store network. The collaboration, which builds on more than four years of work together, has already supported delivery orchestration across more than 4,000 locations and tens of millions of annual deliveries. Advance aims to more dynamically coordinate deliveries across internal fleet assets and third-party providers to improve flexibility, reliability, and operational efficiency. The move supports Advance's ongoing investments in supply chain modernization, inventory availability, market hubs, and store-based fulfillment.
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