O'Reilly reported a strong finish to 2025, with comp sales of 5.6% in Q4 driven by robust growth in the professional business, while the DIY side remained stable. Management issued a confident 2026 outlook, guiding to 3-5% comps, and accelerating new store growth and capex. The key headwind discussed was elevated cost inflation in self-insurance programs (healthcare, workers' comp, auto liability), which is pressuring SG&A. Q4 2025 comp sales grew 5.6%, at the high end of expectations, with professional comps up over 10% for the second consecutive quarter; DIY comps were low single digits.
Buzzberg read2026 comparable store sales guided at 3-5%O'Reilly reported a strong finish to 2025, with comp sales of 5.6% in Q4 driven by robust growth in the professional business, while the DIY side remained stable. Management issued a confident 2026 outlook, guiding to 3-5% comps, and accelerating new store growth and capex. The key headwind discussed was elevated cost inflation in self-insurance programs (healthcare, workers' comp, auto liability), which is pressuring SG&A. Q4 2025 comp sales grew 5.6%, at the high end of expectations, with professional comps up over 10% for the second consecutive quarter; DIY comps were low single digits.Read full analysisCollapse analysis
O'Reilly reported a strong finish to 2025, with comp sales of 5.6% in Q4 driven by robust growth in the professional business, while the DIY side remained stable. Management issued a confident 2026 outlook, guiding to 3-5% comps, and accelerating new store growth and capex. The key headwind discussed was elevated cost inflation in self-insurance programs (healthcare, workers' comp, auto liability), which is pressuring SG&A. Q4 2025 comp sales grew 5.6%, at the high end of expectations, with professional comps up over 10% for the second consecutive quarter; DIY comps were low single digits.
2026 comp guidance of 3-5% assumes stable rational pricing and similar levels of same-skew inflation (~3%), with most of the benefit weighted to the first half of the year.
SG&A per-store is guided to grow 3-4% in 2026, reflecting a cautious outlook on continued cost inflation in self-insurance and legal line items.
New store activity is accelerating, with a target of 225-235 net new store openings in 2026, including early greenfield expansion in Canada; capex is set to increase to $1.3-1.4B.
Revenue$4.4143B
reported
EPS$0.71
reported
Gross margin51.79%
reported
Op margin18.77%
reported
What changed this quarter
01
Guidance
2026 comparable store sales guided at 3-5%
Guidance · revenue to $18.85B
02
Demand
Professional business comp grew over 10% for second straight quarter
Management expressed confidence in continued share gains and growth momentum, while acknowledging cost headwinds and a cautious consumer, striking a balanced but positive tone.
03
Margins
SG&A pressure from self-insurance costs expected to persist in 2026
Reported gross margin was 51.79%, reinforcing the quarter's better-than-guided profitability.
04
Capex
New Stafford DC opened; Fort Worth DC expected in Q1 2028
Management guided 2026 capital expenditures to $1.3-1.4 billion, up from ~$1.2 billion in 2025, primarily to accelerate net new store openings to 225-235 (including initial greenfield stores in Canada) and to continue investing in distribution capabilities such as the new…
Demand & capex
Demand
Bookings & conversion
Professional business comp grew over 10% for second straight quarter. Management expressed confidence in continued share gains and growth momentum, while acknowledging cost headwinds and a cautious consumer, striking a balanced but positive tone.
Capex
Investment and capacity
Management guided 2026 capital expenditures to $1.3-1.4 billion, up from ~$1.2 billion in 2025, primarily to accelerate net new store openings to 225-235 (including initial greenfield stores in Canada) and to continue investing in distribution capabilities such as the new Stafford, Virginia and Fort Worth, Texas distribution centers.
Tone · Confident
Management expressed confidence in continued share gains and growth momentum, while acknowledging cost headwinds and a cautious consumer, striking a balanced but positive tone.
Supply-chain alpha
A1
The pricing environment rationalized in Q4 after a significant ramp in tariff-induced cost pressures in Q3, and management expects only modest incremental price changes in 2026.
“After a significant ramp in these cost pressures and corresponding price changes in the third quarter, the fourth quarter leveled out, and the inflation benefit was very consistent month to month.”
O'Reilly is seeing robust double-digit growth in its professional (DIFM) business, which is outpacing the DIY side and is a key driver of share gains.
“Similar to the third quarter, growth in our professional business was the stronger driver of our sales results, with an increase in comparable store sales of over 10% for the second consecutive quarter.”
Management is seeing a growing headwind from self-insurance costs (healthcare, workers' comp, auto liability), which are running above historical trends and contributed to SG&A pressure in Q4.
“The larger impact driving our spend in the quarter was the broad-based pressures that we saw from continued heightened cost inflation in our self-insurance programs, including headwinds in team member health care costs, workers' compensati…”