Quality Investor

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.

Rank #144ValueWatchlistCompare with other stocks

ASO · Nasdaq · Consumer Cyclical

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (ASO) — Rank #144 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.38) · ROE 17.3% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001817358 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a sporting goods and outdoor recreational retailer in the United States.

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The company's outdoors division comprises camping products, such as coolers and drinkware, camping accessories and equipment, and watersports and equipment; fishing products, including marine equipment and fishing rods, reels, and baits and equipment; and hunting products, which includes firearms, ammunition, archery and archery equipment, camouflage apparel, waders, shooting accessories, gun safes, optics, airguns, and hunting equipment. Its sports and recreation division offers fitness equipment, fitness accessories, and nutrition supplies; team and specialty sports equipment, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, racket sports, volleyball, backpacks, and sports bags; recreation products, which includes patio furniture, outdoor cooking, trampolines, and play sets, as well as wheeled goods that include bicycles, skateboards, and other ride-on toys; and electronics, watches, and sunglasses, as well as front-end products, such as consumables, batteries, etc. The company's apparel division provides outdoor and seasonal apparel, denim, work apparel, graphic t-shirts, accessories, and outerwear; boys and girls outdoor, and athletic apparel and swimwear; sporting and fitness apparel; and professional and collegiate team licensed apparel and accessories. Its footwear division offers casual shoes, slippers, seasonal footwear, and socks; work and western boots, shoes, and hunting footwear; boys and girls footwear; athletic footwear, such as running shoes, athletic lifestyle, and training shoes; and team and specialty sports footwear, and slides. The company sells its products under the Academy Sports + Outdoors, Magellan Outdoors, BCG, O'rageous, Game Winner, Outdoor Gourmet, Freely, R.O.W., Redfield, and H2OX brand names. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.

was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Katy, Texas.

Industry
Specialty Retail
Sector
Consumer Cyclical
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
January 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

22,000

Industry

Specialty Retail

Exchange

Nasdaq

11/12

Flags passed

ASO fails 1 critical flag

Passes 11 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Operating margin declining

    Operating margin lower than prior year

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Deferred revenue growing · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.38
Return on equity
17.3%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.53
Current ratio
1.74×
Net cash
-$195.94M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.3%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
2.0%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
-6.9%

Dividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Operating margin declining · GP/assets 0.38

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.38

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

7th of 11 SIC 59 peers

Return on equity

17.3%

Gross margin

34.8%

8th of 11 SIC 59 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

2.0%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-1.8%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

1.2%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-15.7%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

-20.6%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 41% below net income

Free cash flow

$222.13M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-41.0%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.3%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $195.94M, F-Score 7/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.53

7th of 10 SIC 59 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.74×

4th of 11 SIC 59 peers

Quick ratio

0.27×

Net cash

-$195.94M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

7 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.2 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
9.2%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
6.41×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
3 yr2/5 Fair
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.53 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.3 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-6.9%5/5 Strong
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
3 yr2/5 Fair
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
0.8%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Op. Leverage
Decline
Value

Price History

ASO+9.0% · +1.7% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR