ASO
Our take
Academy Sports has for years pitched a growth story built on opening new stores and layering on merchandising wins, yet its existing store base has struggled to carry its share of the load. We try to separate what is genuinely incremental from what simply keeps pace. The question we keep asking: where does durable growth at established stores come from?
Updated: September 20, 2026
Academy's new-store comp boost can't offset negative comps, and its other growth drivers look thin.
Testing Academy management's four bullish talking points, from new-store comps to upper-income shoppers; several look too rosy.
Academy's growth math looks great on paper, but new-store economics and a Nike-driven sales lift raise doubts it can deliver.
Bit surprised by the stock strength as quarter itself largely non-event on topline given updated guidance heading into the investor day awhile back – management stated quarter came in as expected.
January softer than anticipated due to winter stores with half store base shut down for 2-3 days. Business rebounded after they reopened.
Is this really the second quarter in a row where they miss earnings but increase the guidance range? Even that is kind of a mess as they lowered adjusted net income on the high end while raising adjusted EPS (likely due to share repurchases but still a lot of noise here).
