WASHINGTON — Advance Auto Parts executives announced Thursday that the company planned to close hundreds of stores over the next several years, as business failed to meet expectations set by investors ahead of a quarterly earnings report.
The plan, outlined during a meeting with shareholders, would take about three years. It would include closing more than 500 retail locations, as well as four distribution centers. About 204 independent store locations would also leave the franchise, meaning they would lose the Advance Auto Parts branding and become independent.
The company on Thursday reported a loss of $6 million in its third quarter.
On a per-share basis, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company said it had a loss of 10 cents. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 4 cents per share.
The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 52 cents per share.
The auto parts retailer posted revenue of $2.15 billion in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.67 billion.
Advance Auto Parts expects full-year revenue of $9 billion.
Advance Auto Parts shares have declined 33% since the beginning of the year. The stock has declined 27% in the last 12 months.
At the start of 2024, Advance Auto Parts had 4,786 stores across the U.S. Representatives declined to provide a list of stores that would be part of the mass closings, pointing instead to the publicly available investor data released as part of the earnings call.
