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As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the auto parts retailer industry, including Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) and its peers.
Cars are complex machines that need maintenance and occasional repairs, and auto parts retailers cater to the professional mechanic as well as the do-it-yourself (DIY) fixer. Work on cars may entail replacing fluids, parts, or accessories, and these stores have the parts and accessories or these jobs. While e-commerce competition presents a risk, these stores have a leg up due to the combination of broad and deep selection as well as expertise provided by sales associates. Another change on the horizon could be the increasing penetration of electric vehicles.
The 5 auto parts retailer stocks we track reported a slower Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 7.3% since the latest earnings results.
Weakest Q4: Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO)
Started as a single location in Rochester, New York, Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) provides common auto services such as brake repairs, tire replacements, and oil changes.
Monro reported revenues of $305.8 million, down 3.7% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.5%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.
“We drove a sequential improvement in our year-over-year comparable store sales percentage change from the second quarter and returned our business to year-over-year comparable store sales growth in the month of December, when adjusted for a shift in the timing of the Christmas holiday.”, said Mike Broderick, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Monro delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is down 19.6% since reporting and currently trades at $17.67.
Read our full report on Monro here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)
Largely targeting the professional customer, Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) sells auto and industrial parts such as batteries, belts, bearings, and machine fluids.
Genuine Parts reported revenues of $5.77 billion, up 3.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1%. The business performed better than its peers, but it was unfortunately a mixed quarter with a decent beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.