Academy Sports and Outdoors

ASO

Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$45.83

+0.18 (+0.39%)

Market Cap

$2.84B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is curious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 2, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Exceptional

Valuation

Strong

Dividends

Good

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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

For growth stock investors

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

Revenue Growth

+2.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+8.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow 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

$330M 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 2% 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

33.2%

Modest — 33.2% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

5.2%

Thin — 5.2% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

19.9%

Strong — 19.9% 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

+3.8%

Slow sales growth (+3.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+5.6%

Modest earnings growth (+5.6% YoY)

Single-digit earnings growth — steady but not exciting.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

3/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

114%

Turns 114% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

3.9%

Thin free cash flow (3.9%)

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

0.23

Conservative — low debt load (0.23)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

14.31x

Comfortably covers interest (14.3x)

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

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

7.9x

Attractive valuation — P/E 7.9

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

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+1.1

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.18%

Small dividend — 1.18% yield

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

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+16.7%

Dividend growing fast (16.7% YoY)

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