O’Reilly Automotive boosts profits by 35%

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) reported a nearly 35% increase in quarterly profits as auto parts sales continued to grow amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Springfield-based retailer's third quarter earnings were $527.3 million, or $7.07 per diluted share, compared with $391.3 million, or $5.08 per diluted share, a year earlier, according to a news release.

"Our team’s tireless efforts resulted in our second consecutive quarter of over 16% comparable store sales growth," said CEO and co-President Greg Johnson, in the release. "Our DIY business was again a larger contributor to our comparable store sales growth; however, our professional business performed very well, again generating comparable store sales above our expectations during the quarter."

O'Reilly Automotive’s third quarter financial notes:
• revenue climbed 20% to $3.2 billion;
• repurchased 1 million shares of its common stock for a total investment of roughly $443 million; and
• conducted a $500 million debt round.

As of Sept. 30, O'Reilly Automotive's assets were $5.5 billion. The company had 5,613 stores to end the quarter, according to the release.

ORLY shares were trading at $437.83 as of 11:13 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $251.52 to $487.95.