O'Reilly Automotive Posts Reaccelerating Growth, Raises EPS Outlook
O'Reilly Automotive's comparable store sales jumped to 8.1% in the first quarter, up from 5.6% the prior period, as the auto-parts retailer lifted its full-year profit guidance.
O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) posted a reacceleration in comparable store sales to 8.1% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the company's most recent financial results. The auto-parts retailer's latest disclosure, dated July 1, 2026, is itself only an announcement that second-quarter results will be released July 29, 2026, and contains no new financial data. The comparison below therefore reflects the company's first-quarter 2026 results against its fourth-quarter 2025 results, the most recent actual figures available.
The comp-sales trend is notable because it builds on an already difficult prior-year base: the 8.1% first-quarter figure came on top of 3.6% growth a year earlier, while the fourth quarter's 5.6% comp was measured against a tougher 4.4% prior-year comparison. The two-year stack shows underlying demand strengthening rather than merely easing comparisons driving the numbers.
Revenue rose 10% year over year to $4.56 billion in the first quarter from $4.14 billion, accelerating from 8% growth in the fourth quarter, when revenue reached $4.41 billion versus $4.10 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share grew 16% to $0.72 from $0.62, also a step up from the 13% growth posted in the fourth quarter, when EPS rose to $0.71 from $0.63.
Margins widened alongside the top-line gains. Gross margin reached 51.5% of sales in the first quarter, up from 51.3% a year earlier, extending an expansion that began in the fourth quarter when gross margin rose to 51.8% from 51.3%. Operating margin expanded to 18.5% of sales from 17.9%, a larger move than the fourth quarter's expansion to 18.8% from 18.0%, with operating income up 14% year over year compared with 12% growth in the prior quarter.
SG&A costs eased as a share of sales, falling to 33.0% from 33.4% a year earlier. That reversed the pressure O'Reilly flagged in the fourth quarter, when management said SG&A costs "again exceeded our expectations" because of inflation in team-member health care and casualty claim costs. Operating cash flow ran at roughly $1.03 billion in the first quarter alone, against $2.8 billion for all of 2025, pointing to a stronger cash-generation pace entering the year.
O'Reilly raised its full-year 2026 diluted EPS guidance to a range of $3.15 to $3.25, up from the $3.10 to $3.20 range issued alongside fourth-quarter results, and lifted operating margin guidance to 19.3%-19.8% from 19.2%-19.7%. Revenue, comparable-sales and cash-flow guidance ranges were reiterated unchanged.
The company also accelerated its buyback pace, repurchasing $923 million of stock in the first quarter, or 10.0 million shares at an average price of $92.45, up from $500 million and 5.2 million shares at an average of $96.69 in the fourth quarter. Store count grew to 6,644 locations as of the first quarter, from 6,585 at the end of the fourth quarter and 6,538 at the end of the third quarter of 2025, tracking toward the company's full-year target of 225 to 235 net new stores.