On Thursday, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. ( ASO ) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.96, beating the street view of $1.83. Quarterly sales of $1.676 billion (down 6.6% year over year) missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.677 billion by a hairline.

Comparable sales declined 3% in the quarter under review, compared with a 3.6% dip in the year-ago period.

Academy opened five new stores during the fourth quarter for a total of 16 new stores in 2024. In 2025, the company plans on opening 20 – 25 new stores.

Adjusted net income in the quarter under review totaled $138.8 million, down 17.5% year over year.

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The gross margin in the quarter under review contracted to 32.2% from 33.3% in the year-ago period. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA totaled $211.66 million, down from $255.15 million a year ago.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $288.93 million. Merchandise inventories at the end of the quarter were $1.308 billion.

Long-term debt (net) as of quarter end was $482.68 million, compared with $484.55 million at the end of February 3, 2024.

On March 6, Academy Sports declared a quarterly cash dividend of 13 cents per share of common stock, marking an 18% increase from the previous quarter. The dividend will be payable on April 17.

Outlook: Academy Sports projects FY25 net revenues between $6.090 billion and $6.265 billion, compared with $6.240 billion estimate. The company expects adjusted EPS in the range of $5.75 to $6.20, compared to the $6.45 estimate.

“We have seen sequential improvements in comp sales since the second quarter and we anticipate that will continue into 2025,” said Carl Ford, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 

Also, the company expects the first quarter to be the most challenging from a sales and earnings per share perspective as it plans to open five stores and transition to the new Jordan floor set. The company further expects its internal initiatives to start positively impacting results beginning in the second quarter.

Price Action: ASO shares are trading higher by 0.32% to $47.72 at last check Thursday.

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