Key Highlights

● Third-quarter sales rose 9% to a record $5.12 billion from $4.71 billion.

● Comparable store sales grew 7.2%, on top of a 5.6% gain a year earlier.

● Results included a $39 million benefit from Tariff refunds that may not recur.

● The company bought back 11.8 million shares for $1.03 billion in the quarter.

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) shares were higher before Friday's open, with a pre-market table showing the stock at $91.46, up 3.84%, as of 8:23 a.m. ET. The gain comes two days after the auto parts retailer reported third-quarter results, so it is not a reaction to fresh news released this morning.

Parts retailer extends its post-earnings run

O'Reilly published those numbers at 4:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and held its conference call on Thursday morning. No company-specific catalyst dated Friday could be found, so the latest move appears to reflect continued buying after the report, alongside a broader shift into defensive and consumer-staples-like names as technology stocks slide. That link is an inference, not something the company or analysts have stated.

Inside the quarter

Sales rose 9% to a record $5.12 billion from $4.71 billion a year earlier, according to the company's release. Comparable store sales grew 7.2%, on top of a 5.6% increase in the same quarter of 2025, an unusually strong two-year stack for a mature retailer.

Margins widened too. Gross Margin improved to 52.4% from 51.9%, and Operating Margin rose to 21.4% from 20.7%. Diluted Earnings per share climbed 14% to $0.97 from $0.85. The company noted that results included a $39 million benefit from tariff refunds, which flatters the comparison and will not necessarily recur.

"Team O'Reilly's dedication was evident in our strong third quarter comparable store sales increase of 7.2%," CEO Brad Beckham said in the release. He added that the company remains "very pleased with our new store performance and confident in the strength of the fundamental Demand drivers in our business."

O'Reilly raised its full-year targets for comparable store sales to a range of 5.5% to 6.5%, for gross margin to 51.6% to 52.1%, and for operating margin to 19.5% to 20.0%. It guided 2026 diluted EPS to $3.25 to $3.35 and total Revenue to $19.0 billion to $19.3 billion. The release did not restate the prior ranges for EPS and revenue.

Buybacks, index weight and the risks

The company kept returning cash aggressively. It bought back 11.8 million shares for $1.03 billion in the quarter and another $204 million worth after quarter-end through Oct. 28, leaving about $727 million under its current authorization. It ended September with 6,758 stores across the US, Mexico and Canada, and has opened 173 net new stores this year against a target of 225 to 235.

As a Nasdaq-100 member, O'Reilly is one of the few non-tech names that can cushion the index on a day like this. Nasdaq-100 futures were down about 2.6% around 8 a.m. ET, according to market quotes, after Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) results reignited worries about AI spending. Auto parts sellers have historically been viewed as resilient because drivers tend to repair older cars when budgets are tight.

There are clear risks. The tariff-refund benefit will not repeat, oil above $100 a barrel could eventually crimp miles driven, and the stock's valuation already prices in steady execution. Comparisons will also get tougher after such a strong year, and any slowdown in the professional repair business, which serves garages and dealerships, would likely show up quickly in comparable sales.

Next on the radar are the company's store-opening pace into year-end and the fourth-quarter report, which O'Reilly typically releases in early February. Investors will also watch whether rivals' updates confirm that demand for do-it-yourself and professional repair parts is holding up.