O’Reilly Automotive has announced record revenues and earnings for its first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Sales for the first quarter increased $126 million, or 6 percent, to $2.28 billion from $2.16 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the first quarter increased to $1.20 billion (or 52.6 percent of sales) from $1.13 billion (or 52.5 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 6 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter increased to $778 million (or 34.1 percent of sales) from $728 million (or 33.8 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 7 percent. Operating income for the first quarter increased to $423 million (or 18.5 percent of sales) from $403 million (or 18.7 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 5 percent.
Greg Henslee, O’Reilly’s CEO, commented, “Our team’s dedication to excellent customer service drove a 3.4 percent increase in comparable store sales, which was above the mid-point of our guidance for the first quarter, and our relentless focus on profitable growth translated this top-line performance into a 5 percent increase in operating profit dollars and a 28 percent increase in diluted earnings per share for the first quarter. I would like to thank Team O’Reilly for their hard work and unwavering commitment to providing unsurpassed levels of service to our customers every day and for their contributions to our ongoing success.”
Net income for the first quarter increased $40 million, or 15 percent, to $305 million (or 13.4 percent of sales) from $265 million (or 12.3 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the first quarter increased 28 percent to $3.61 on 85 million shares versus $2.83 on 93 million shares for the same period one year ago.
Henslee concluded, “We believe the long-term drivers for demand in our industry remain intact, including a growing and aging vehicle fleet that is driven over 3 trillion miles each year; but more importantly, we are very confident in our ability to continue to gain market share by providing consistently high levels of service to our customers, and we are well-positioned to build on the improved trends we drove in the first quarter.”
Share Repurchase Program
During the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $251.08, for a total investment of $549 million. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter and through the date of this release, O’Reilly repurchased an additional 0.4 million shares of its common stock, at an average price per share of $235.25, for a total investment of $87 million. The company has repurchased a total of 68.8 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 $140.55, for a total aggregate investment of $9.67 billion. As of the date of this release, the company had approximately $1.08 billion remaining under its current share repurchase authorizations.
