Shares of AutoZone Inc. rose 1.1% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the automotive replacement parts retailer reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that rose above expectations and surprise growth in same-store sales, citing strength in both retail and commercial sales. Net income for the quarter to May 7 was $592.6 million, or $29.03 a share, after earnings of $596.2 million, or $26.48 a share, in the year-ago period, as the weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding declined 9.3% to 20.41 million. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of $26.18. Sales grew 5.9% to $3.87 million, above the FactSet consensus of $3.71 billion, while same-store sales growth of 2.6% beat expectations of a 0.1% decline. Cost of sales increased 7.1% to $1.86 billion, as gross margin contracted to 51.9% from 52.4%. The company spent $900 million to repurchase 449,000 shares during the quarter. The stock has lost 13.9% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has declined 16.6%.
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