O’Reilly Auto shares plummet on same-store sales drop

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) shares fell as much as 27 percent yesterday after the company reported a sharp dip in same-store sales.

The Springfield-based auto parts retailer’s stock price dropped to a new 52-week low of $173.89. That’s the 10th new 52-week low in the past month. The low price point yesterday is 41 percent lower than O’Reilly Automotive’s all-time high of $292.84 struck a year ago.

Yesterday’s stock drop came after the company notified investors its second-quarter comparable store sales were 1.7 percent, short of officials’ forecast of 3 to 5 percent for the three-month period. Same-store sales were up 4.3 percent in second-quarter 2016, according to a news release.

CEO Greg Henslee cited “continued headwinds from a second consecutive mild winter and overall weak consumer demand.”

“After exiting the first quarter and entering April on an improved sales trend, we faced a more challenging sales environment than we expected for the remainder of the quarter,” he said in the release. “While we are disappointed with our sales results in the first half of the year, we remain confident in the long-term health of our industry and our team’s ability to provide exceptional customer service and take market share in this challenging demand environment.”

O’Reilly Automotive is scheduled to report its full second-quarter earnings results on July 26.

ORLY shares were trading at $179 as of 9:37 a.m.

[[In-content Ad]]