Shares of auto parts and accessories retailer AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) fell 0.9% in the afternoon session after the company reported third-quarter results that missed Wall Street's profit estimates.

While the auto parts retailer's sales of $6.24 billion were in line with forecasts, its earnings per share came in at $48.71, falling short of the $50.68 consensus estimate. Digging deeper into the results, the company's profitability showed signs of pressure, with its operating margin declining to 19.2% from 20.9% in the same period last year. The market reacted negatively to the news, as the earnings miss and shrinking profitability raised concerns among investors about the company's performance.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy AutoZone? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

AutoZone’s shares are not very volatile and have had no moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

AutoZone is up 25.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $4,090 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $4,355 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AutoZone’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,616.

Today’s young investors likely haven’t read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next.