Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY2023 net sales fell 3.7% to $6,159.3M; diluted GAAP EPS declined 10.5% to $6.70.

• Q4 net sales rose 2.8% to $1,794.8M and diluted GAAP EPS increased 12.2% to $2.21; comparable sales improved to -3.6% from -8.0% in Q3.

• Growth priorities include new stores, omnichannel sales, customer data, and supply-chain improvements.

Financial highlights

• Q4 income before tax rose 2.5% to $211.3M; net income increased 6.7% to $168.2M.

• Q4 gross margin improved 50 bps to 33.3%; operating income was $204.0M versus $204.8M, and net income margin was 9.4% versus 9.0%.

• FY2023 net income declined 17.3% to $519.2M; adjusted net income fell 16.5% to $539.5M and adjusted diluted EPS decreased 9.6% to $6.96.

• FY2023 operating income fell to $677.9M from $846.5M; gross margin was 34.3%, down from 34.6%.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2024 net sales guidance is $6,070M–$6,350M, with midpoint growth of 0.8%; comparable sales guidance is -4.0% to +1.0%.

• FY2024 gross margin guidance is 34.3%–34.7%; net income is forecast at $455M–$530M and diluted EPS at $5.90–$6.90.

• FY2024 capital expenditures are forecast at $225M–$275M; adjusted free cash flow guidance is $290M–$375M.

• Plans call for 15–17 new stores in 2024, following 14 openings in 2023.

• FY2023 sales included ~$73M from its 53rd week, an estimated 1% impact on FY2024 sales growth comparison.