Transaction details
Richard Craig Smith, who serves as Senior Vice President of AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), completed the sale of 5,910 shares of the company’s common stock on January 23, 2026. The shares were sold at $3,700.00 each for aggregate proceeds of $21,867,000. On the same date, Smith exercised stock options to acquire 5,910 shares at an exercise price of $587.13, for a total exercise cost of $3,469,938.
Those options were issued under the AutoZone, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Award Plan and are described as exercisable in annual one-fourth increments beginning on September 26, 2018.
Ownership and company metrics
After completing these transactions, Smith’s direct ownership stands at 2,626.7733 shares of AutoZone common stock. At the time of reporting, AutoZone shares were trading at $3,799.99 and the company’s market capitalization was listed at approximately $63 billion. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53 and the company is said to maintain a GOOD overall financial health score despite operating with a moderate level of debt.
According to InvestingPro analysis cited in the data set, AZO appears overvalued relative to its Fair Value estimate. Additional financial metrics and research on the company and more than 1,400 other U.S. equities are made available through InvestingPro.
Earnings snapshot and margin pressures
AutoZone’s fiscal first quarter 2026 results showed earnings per share of $31.04. That result was below both Jefferies’ estimate of $32.07 and the consensus forecast of $32.71. Management attributed margin pressure to higher expenses associated with store growth and to lower gross margins resulting from LIFO accounting effects.
In the wake of the quarterly report, multiple brokerages adjusted their price targets for AutoZone. UBS lowered its target to $4,325.00 from $4,800.00, citing increased investment spending. Jefferies reduced its target to $4,400.00 from $4,750.00 while maintaining a Buy rating. Truist Securities cut its target to $4,076.00 from $4,499.00, noting that the results were in line with their estimates but below consensus. BMO Capital adjusted its target to $4,400.00 from $4,600.00 and attributed the change to higher SG&A spending and LIFO charges. DA Davidson reiterated a Buy rating and kept its $4,500.00 price target despite the reported margin pressures.
Context and available data
The transactions by Smith reflect the simultaneous exercise of long-standing option grants and a sizable disposition of the resulting shares. The facts reported here are limited to the transaction details, the company’s disclosed quarterly results, and subsequent analyst target revisions. No additional claims about future performance or motivations for the transactions are made beyond the recorded figures and statements on costs and accounting impacts.
Readers interested in the underlying metrics referenced here can consult the InvestingPro dataset and Pro Research Report for AutoZone, which compile the valuation, financial health, and comparative insights mentioned above.