O'Reilly Auto stock soars on quarterly results

A solid start to the year sent O'Reilly Automotive Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ORLY) shares past $550 for the first time in company history.

The Springfield-based auto parts retailer produced first quarter net income of $501.6 million, a 67% increase from $300.4 million a year earlier, according to a news release. Diluted share earnings rose to $7.06 from $3.97 per share in first quarter 2020.

“We are extremely proud to report our exceptionally strong start to 2021, highlighted by comparable store sales growth of 24.8%, which represents the strongest quarterly comparable store sales growth in our company’s history," said Greg Johnson, co-president and CEO, in the release. "Team O’Reilly once again delivered record-breaking results in the midst of continued challenges presented by the pandemic and extreme weather across much of the country."

First quarter financial notes for O'Reilly Automotive:
• Revenue rose 25% to $3.1 billion.
• The company invested $665 million repurchasing 1.5 million of its shares.
• The quarter-ending store count came to 5,682, compared with 5,533 a year earlier.

As of March 31, O'Reilly Automotive's assets were $11.9 billion, according to the release.

ORLY shares rose as high as $551.58 this morning. The stock's 52-week low is $373.14 per share