Advance Auto Parts shares plunge after results miss expectations, CFO resigns

Shares of Advance Auto Parts Inc. tumbled 9.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the autoparts retailer missed first-quarter profit and sales expectations, cut its outlook and said its chief financial officer was leaving. For the quarter ended April 23, earnings rose to $158.8 million, or $2.14 a share, from $148.1 million, or $2.00 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.51, below the FactSet consensus of $2.60. Sales fell to $2.98 billion from $3.04 billion, while same-store sales declined 1.9%, missing the FactSet consensus for sales of $3.01 billion and for a same-store sales decline of 0.5%. The company cut its full-year 2016 same-store sales outlook to negative 3% to negative 5%, from growth in the low single digits percentage range. Given sales trends experienced at the end of the first quarter, Advance Auto no longer expects to achieve its full-year free cash flow target of at least $500 million. Separately, CFO Mike Norona will be leaving the company after eight years in the position. The stock has dropped 4.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.2%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.