09:24 AM EDT, 05/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- AutoZone ( AZO ) reported mixed fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday, as sales rose with domestic gains that helped offset currency-led declines in the international segment while the retailer's income slipped.

Sales rose to $4.46 billion in the 12 weeks ended May 10 from $4.24 billion a year earlier, the auto parts company said. The result topped the $4.42 billion consensus among analysts polled by FactSet. Earnings fell to $35.36 a share from $36.69, while the Street was looking for $36.78 a share.

"Domestically, both (do-it-yourself) and commercial continued to perform well and sales accelerated meaningfully from the previous quarter," Chief Executive Phil Daniele said in a statement.

Consolidated same-store sales were up 3.2%, better than the 1.9% pace from a year earlier. Domestic sales rose 5% while international contracted 9.2%. Excluding currency fluctuations, international same-store sales rose 8.1%.

"While currency rate moves continued to pressure reported sales and earnings, we believe our international operations are positioned well as we continue to focus on opening more stores in these markets," Daniele said. "While our gross margins were pressured this quarter, we believe we will drive improvement as our new distribution centers ramp up and we continue to drive higher merchandise margins."

AutoZone ( AZO ) opened 25 stores in Mexico in the quarter and five in Brazil, along with 54 in the US, giving it a total of 7,516 locations, it said. Sales per average store rose to $586,000 in the quarter from $576,000 a year ago.

The company's gross margin slowed 77 basis points to 52.7%. "While some investors may question the modest dip in margins, it seems to us like some of the margin pressures are temporary and unlikely to be a notable source of concern," Scot Ciccarelli, managing director at Truist Securities, said in a note.

The 5% gain in domestic same-store sales was the best in two years, and "driven by a nice acceleration in commercial sales," Ciccarelli said. Domestic commercial sales rose almost 11%, according to the Truist note.