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Research · S&P 500 · Consumer Discretionary

AZO · AutoZone

The numbers, the scorecard and what analysts say, with the source for each. Information, not advice.

Price · last 3 months · daily close

AZO price

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Daily closing prices via yfinance. Quotes are delayed. Past prices are not a guarantee of future results.

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5 where the data allows, plus moat evidence

26/55
low-moderate value score11 of 12 checks scored

11 of the 12 checks that carry a score were scored from the data available. 1 could not be scored (ROE Trend) and was left out, so the score is out of 55 instead of 60. The label uses the same share of the available points as for a full scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence from the filings, without a score.

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

4/5

Diluted EPS: $117.19 (2022), $132.36 (2023), $149.55 (2024), $144.87 (2025). It rose every year but one and ended above 2022; the framework scores that as 4.

ROE Trend

Not scored

Shareholder equity is negative in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, so ROE has no meaningful value and is not scored.

ROIC

5/5

ROIC of 36.7%: operating income of $3.61B divided by $9.84B of capital (total assets $19.36B minus current liabilities $9.52B), fiscal year to Aug 30, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores above 20% as 5.

Profit Margins

4/5

Net margin of 12.7%; the framework scores 10-20% as 4; gross margin 52.3%, operating margin 20.0%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

1/5

Shareholder equity is negative, so debt-to-equity has no meaningful value (total debt $12.86B, total cash $326.12M). The framework scores negative equity as 1. Calculated from the balance sheet in yfinance (at Apr 30, 2026) because yfinance's summary figure was not available.

Free Cash Flow

2/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): $2.54B (2022), $2.14B (2023), $1.93B (2024), $1.79B (2025). It ended at or below 2022; the framework scores that as 2.

Retained Earnings

1/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): -$1.33B (2022), -$2.96B (2023), -$4.42B (2024), -$3.98B (2025). The latest balance is negative (an accumulated deficit); the framework scores that as 1.

Valuation models

Graham IV

2/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $152.55 x (8.5 + 2 x 4.6) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $2,640.13. Current price $3,120.59; price is 18.2% above the model value.

DCF Value

1/5

FCF/share = $100.984, stage 1 growth = 4.2% for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $430.45, PV of terminal value = $1,133.36, DCF value = $1,563.81. Current price $3,120.59; price is 99.6% above the model value. Free cash flow here is operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. Calculated from the quarterly statements in yfinance (four quarters to May 31, 2026) because yfinance's summary figure was not available.

Margin of Safety

2/5

Graham value $2,640.13 (price is 18.2% above the model value); DCF value $1,563.81 (price is 99.6% above the model value).

Price-to-Book

1/5

Book value is negative; the framework scores negative book value as 1.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 10 of 10 years (2016-2025); lowest 29.7%, highest 52.7%.

2016: 52.7%, 2017: 46.3%, 2018: 41.9%, 2019: 50.6%, 2020: 29.7%, 2021: 41.2%, 2022: 48.9%, 2023: 46.5%, 2024: 44.8%, 2025: 36.7%

Gross margin, each year

Between 52.0% and 53.7% over 10 years (a range of 1.7 points).

2016: 52.7%, 2017: 52.7%, 2018: 53.2%, 2019: 53.7%, 2020: 53.6%, 2021: 52.8%, 2022: 52.1%, 2023: 52.0%, 2024: 53.1%, 2025: 52.6%

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Oct 27, 2025

The sale of automotive parts, accessories and maintenance items is highly competitive. AutoZone competes on the basis of customer service, including the knowledge and expertise of our AutoZoners and our ability to provide prompt delivery to commercial customers; merchandise quality, selection and availability; product warranty; store layouts, location and convenience; price; and the strength of our AutoZone brand

The opening of the company’s “Competition” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

3/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in every year (pass); $12.78B paid out against $8.40B of free cash flow (fail: paid out more than free cash flow); total debt $9.30B to $12.29B, up 32.2%, 2.9x EBITDA (fail: up more than 10% and above 2x EBITDA); shares outstanding 0.02B to 0.02B, down 12.9% (pass). 2 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 3.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

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These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated
  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $152.55, g = 4.6%, Y = 4.5
    IV = $2,640.13
    Current price $3,120.59 vs Graham value $2,640.13 — price is 18.2% above the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $100.984
    Stage 1 growth = 4.2% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
      Y1: $105.226 → PV $95.660
      Y2: $109.645 → PV $90.616
      Y3: $114.250 → PV $85.838
      Y4: $119.049 → PV $81.312
      Y5: $124.049 → PV $77.025
    Stage 1 PV sum = $430.45
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $1,825.29
    PV of terminal value = $1,133.36
    DCF value = $1,563.81
    Current price $3,120.59 vs DCF value $1,563.81 — price is 99.6% above the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $3120.59. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. A check that cannot be scored from the available data is shown as not scored and left out of the composite score. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

Recent headlines · third-party publishers · not investment advice

In the news

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The 8 newest headlines whose title names the company, shown automatically and never chosen by Valerius. From third-party publishers via Yahoo Finance, linked to the source. Valerius doesn't write or endorse them. Not investment advice.