Academy Sports Reports Q2 Earnings with Mixed Sales Performance
Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 net sales of $1.6 billion, a 3% increase from the prior year, despite a 0.4% decline in comparable store sales. E-commerce continued to be a strong growth driver with a 12.8% rise and digital penetration increasing by 110 basis points compared to last year. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance for both sales and comparable-store sales while raising gross-margin and EPS forecasts, aided by tariff refunds. Consumer traffic from lower-income households weakened significantly during the quarter, with declines in the $50k-and-under income group contrasting sharply against growth among higher-earning customers. Hardgoods categories like sporting goods, fitness equipment, and outdoor products outperformed softgoods such as apparel and footwear, which saw flat or declining sales. Academy plans to continue using targeted promotions and loyalty programs to attract lower-income shoppers while maintaining its store expansion strategy of opening 22–24 new locations in fiscal 2026. Sales trends improved late in the quarter with positive results during July and into early August, supported by tax-free weekends shifting from Q2 to Q3.
Tickers: $ASO
Topics: ecommerce gross_margin retail sales_growth