O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Record Q3 revenue of $5.12B; comparable store sales grew 7.2%, with a 12.8% two-year stack, and diluted EPS rose 14% to $0.97.

• Results benefited from strength across professional and retail, hot-weather categories, continued share gains and a $39M tariff-refund benefit.

• More than 96,000 team members across North America supported the operating network and customer-service focus.

Financial highlights

• Q3 sales rose 9% to $5.12B; gross profit increased 10% to $2.68B. Sales increased $416M, including $94M from non-comp store openings.

• Q3 gross margin was 52.4%, up 54 bps YoY; $39M in tariff refunds added 76 bps, while adjusted results excluding the benefit were at the bottom of the expected range.

• Q3 SG&A was 30.9% of sales versus 31.1%; leverage was 16 bps and SG&A per-store growth was 4.8%.

• Q3 operating income rose 13% to $1.10B and net income increased 8% to $786M; operating margin was 21.4%, up from 20.7%.

• 9M sales rose 9% to $14.57B; operating income increased 11% to $2.93B and net income rose 9% to $2.10B.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 comp guidance rose to 5.5%–6.5% from 4%–6%; continued Q4 same-SKU inflation is expected, moderating from Q3, with a 2.5%–3% rate forecast.

• FY26 diluted EPS guidance is $3.25–$3.35; its midpoint is ~2% above prior guidance and 11% higher YoY. Revenue guidance is $19.0B–$19.3B.

• FY26 gross margin guidance rose 10 bps to 51.6%–52.1%; operating margin guidance rose 20 bps to 19.5%–20.0%, implying 29 bps of full-year expansion.

• FY26 net cash from operations guidance is $3.2B–$3.6B; free cash flow guidance is $1.9B–$2.2B, with CapEx of $1.3B–$1.4B.

• FY26 net new store target remains 225–235; the 2027 target is 265–275. SG&A per-store growth is expected at 4.5%–5%.