Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (ASO) saw its shares fall on Tuesday after reporting mixed second-quarter earnings. While the company achieved adjusted earnings per share of $2.03, aligning with analyst expectations, its quarterly sales of $1.549 billion fell short of the anticipated $1.574 billion, representing a 2.2% decline.
Academy Sports attributed the sales shortfall to a combination of factors, including a tough economic environment, temporary disruptions at a distribution center related to a new warehouse management system, and a season marked by active storms across key regions. Despite this, the company reported a comparable sales decline of 6.9%, which is narrower than the 7.5% decline observed in the previous year.
Academy Sports is actively pursuing strategic goals, including the implementation of new omni-channel features like DoorDash. The company also highlighted its new loyalty program’s success in driving customer engagement. In addition, inventory management improvements have resulted in a 50 basis point increase in gross margin and a 5% reduction in units per store.
During the second quarter, Academy Sports opened one new store, bringing the total number of stores opened in the first two fiscal quarters to three. The company plans to open between 15 and 17 new stores in 2024.
Academy Sports declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per share of common stock, payable on October 17, 2024, to shareholders on record as of September 19, 2024.
For fiscal year 2024, Academy Sports projects net sales between $5.895 billion and $6.075 billion, a revision from its previous forecast of $6.070 billion to $6.350 billion. The company anticipates adjusted EPS to fall between $5.75 and $6.50. The updated outlook for comparable sales forecasts a decrease of 6% to a decrease of 3%, a revision from the previous prediction of a 4% decline to a 1% increase.
At last check on Tuesday, ASO shares were trading down 1.33% to $51.94.
