Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO +1.16%) reported second quarter fiscal 2025 earnings on September 9, 2025, while continuing its store expansion strategy. This summary analyzes results, operational progress, and strategic implications for long-term investors based on the call.
E-commerce growth accelerates and expands omnichannel reach
Academy Sports and Outdoors(ASO +1.16%) achieved an 18% year-over-year increase in e-commerce sales for the second quarter, building on a 10% gain in the first quarter. The company enhanced its digital platform with improved site navigation, a broader endless aisle assortment, and new handheld devices for store fulfillment, which increased online penetration by 120 basis points and supported omnichannel growth amid industry-wide digitalization.
"Another bright spot was our .com business, which grew approximately 18% during Q2 and increased in penetration by 120 basis points. This was on top of a 10% increase in the first quarter. It's also good to see that we managed to improve the sales trajectory of the business while also holding our gross margin rate essentially flat to last year at 36%."
-- Steven Paul Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer
This sustained e-commerce momentum positions the company as a leader in omnichannel execution, differentiating it from sector peers that are slower to adapt to digital retail trends.
Academy Sports and Outdoors gains market share and expands premium brands
The company reported meaningful market share gains in apparel, footwear, sporting goods, and outdoor cooking, supported by the expansion of premium brands such as Nike and Jordan, as well as new launches like Berlabo and Waggle. Traffic from higher-income households grew at a double-digit rate, and the company’s loyalty program surpassed 12 million members, reflecting successful strategic partnerships and brand access.
"We're pleased to see meaningful share gains across almost all of our key businesses such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, fishing, and outdoor cooking. Finally, we use government background checks for firearms purchases or NICS checks data as a proxy for firearms market share. Once again, we saw solid growth on this front. To summarize, in looking at all this data, it tells us customers are gravitating toward our diversified assortment and that our value proposition is resonating with them. All of which resulted in a comp sales increase and solid market share gains during the quarter."
-- Steven Paul Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer
Expanding access to coveted national brands and executing strategic partnerships are driving incremental traffic from higher-income segments, strengthening the company’s competitive position and supporting long-term growth.
Academy Sports and Outdoors manages tariff headwinds and inventory
Amid ongoing U.S. tariff volatility, the company diversified its sourcing, pulled forward pre-tariff inventory, collaborated with vendors, and optimized pricing to reduce exposure to imported goods from China to a mid-single-digit percent range of cost of goods sold (COGS) by year-end. The company ended the quarter with $31 million in cash and maintained strong liquidity with an undrawn $1 billion revolver, supporting its ability to navigate macroeconomic risks.
"At this point, we believe that we have a strategy in place that should mostly offset the impacts of tariffs to our business throughout the remainder of this year while still being able to serve customers and deliver a strong value proposition on all of their sports and outdoor needs."
-- Steven Paul Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer
This multi-pronged approach to mitigating macroeconomic risk helps minimize gross margin impact and preserves the company’s price competitiveness, ensuring continued operational resilience.
Looking Ahead
Management tightened full-year comparable sales guidance to a range of negative 3% to positive 1% and expects gross margin to be between 34.0% and 34.5%. The company plans to open 20 to 25 new stores in 2025 and anticipates continued e-commerce growth and market share gains, while monitoring consumer health and tariff impacts. No additional formal quantitative guidance was provided beyond these updated ranges.
