O’Reilly Automotive has announced record revenues and earnings for its second quarter ended June 30, 2018.

2nd Quarter Financial Results

Greg Johnson, O’Reilly’s CEO and co-president, commented, “We are very pleased to report another profitable quarter, highlighted by a solid 4.6 percent increase in comparable store sales, which exceeded the top of our guidance range for the second quarter. Our top-line performance, driven by Team O’Reilly’s commitment to providing consistent, excellent customer service and our relentless focus on profitable growth resulted in a 38 percent increase in diluted earnings per share to $4.28 for the second quarter. I would like to thank each of our nearly 80,000 team members for their dedication and hard work, which continues to be the catalyst for our long-term success.”

Sales for the second quarter increased $165 million, or 7 percent, to $2.46 billion from $2.29 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the second quarter increased 7 percent to $1.29 billion (or 52.5 percent of sales) from $1.20 billion (or 52.4 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago.

Net income for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, increased $70 million, or 25 percent, to $353 million (or 14.4 percent of sales) from $283 million (or 12.3 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the second quarter increased 38 percent to $4.28 on 83 million shares versus $3.10 on 91 million shares for the same period one year ago.

Year-to-Date Financial Results

Sales for the first six months of 2018 increased $292 million, or 7 percent, to $4.74 billion from $4.45 billion for the same period one year ago.

Net income for the first six months of 2018 increased $110 million, or 20 percent, to $658 million (or 13.9 percent of sales) from $548 million (or 12.3 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the first six months of 2018 increased 33 percent to $7.89 on 83 million shares versus $5.93 on 92 million shares for the same period one year ago.

Johnson continued, “We are establishing our third quarter comparable store sales guidance at a range of 2 to 4 percent. We expect solid business trends to continue; however, during the quarter we face the headwind from an additional Sunday, our lowest volume day, and short-term pressure to miles driven, as consumers adjust to increasing gas prices. Based on our strong year-to-date performance, we are increasing our full-year earnings per share guidance from a range of $15.30 to $15.40 to a range of $15.70 to $15.80.”

Johnson concluded, “We opened 128 net, new stores during the first half of 2018, and we are very well-positioned to achieve our target of 200 net, new stores. Our new stores continue to perform well, and we remain confident in our ability to grow our market share in both new and existing areas. Overall, the long-term demand drivers in our industry remain solid, including a growing and aging vehicle fleet driven over 3 trillion miles each year, and we are extremely confident in our team’s ability to continue to provide industry-leading customer service, supported by unsurpassed parts availability. We would like to again thank Team O’Reilly for our solid results in the first half of 2018, and we look forward to building on that success during the second half of the year.”

Share Repurchase Program

During the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, the company repurchased 1.6 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $264.38, for a total investment of $416 million. During the first six months ended June 30, the company repurchased 3.8 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $256.64, for a total investment of $966 million. Subsequent to the end of the second quarter and through the date of this release, the company repurchased an additional 0.5 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $281.68, for a total investment of $132 million. The company has repurchased a total of 70.5 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program since the inception of the program in January of 2011 and through the date of this release, at an average price of $143.76, for a total aggregate investment of $10.13 billion. As of the date of this release, the company had approximately $618 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.