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Academy Sports and Outdoors

ASO
58
Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical
Price
$58.63
+0.16 (+0.27%)
Market Cap
$3.61B
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
58
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Oct 18, 2026 · filings through Aug 1, 2026

§How the score breaks down

Quality
Good
19/30
Growth
Mixed
8/20
Cash Flow
Strong
8/10
Stability
Strong
8/10
Valuation
Strong
8/10
Ownership
Mixed
4/15
Dividends
Good
3/5

58 of 100 counted points = Winston Score 58.

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Share count falling — buybacks

−27.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 94.3M (2022) → 68.0M (2026)

§Winston Score History

The full picture

Academy Sports and Outdoors is a large sporting goods and outdoor retailer based in Katy, Texas. It sells sports equipment, clothing, footwear, and outdoor gear — covering everything from hunting and fishing to team sports and fitness. The company operates around 300 stores, mostly in the South and Southeast United States, serving everyday families and recreational athletes.

Academy makes money the traditional retail way: customers buy products in its stores or online, and the company earns the difference between what it pays suppliers and what it charges shoppers. Its roughly 34% gross margin is competitive for specialty retail, and its private-label brands help protect some pricing power. The company has been expanding into new states beyond its Southern stronghold, which is its main growth driver — but it faces real competition from Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart, and Amazon, and consumer spending on discretionary items like sports gear tends to slow when the economy weakens.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+3.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+16.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

1.6%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$298M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Academy Sports and Outdoors is growing revenue at 3% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
40.4%
Healthy — 40.4% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
15.0%
Healthy — 15.0% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
16.2%
Strong — 16.2% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+3.7%
Slow sales growth (+3.7% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+13.5%
Earnings growing (+13.5% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
138%
Turns 138% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
6.5%
Modest free cash flow (6.5%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.68
Moderate — manageable debt (0.68)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
16.81x
Comfortably covers interest (16.8x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
9.6x
Attractive valuation — P/E 9.6

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+2.5
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
1.25%
Small dividend — 1.25% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+16.0%
Dividend growing fast (16.0% YoY)
Payout Ratio
9%
no trend
Pays out a modest share of profit and keeps the rest to reinvest. Room to keep paying through a weak year.

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