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Analyst
Chris Horvers
Period: Reporting periods mapped to calendar 2024 Q4 – 2026 Q3 (8 quarters).
- Questions
- 118on tracked calls
- Challenge rate
- 8%10 of 118 questions
- Companies
- 13questioned at least once
- Reporting periods
- 8with questions
These figures cover the whole profile: every tracked question, all reporting periods.
How to read these numbers
Challenge rate is the share of questions that pushed back, pressed for specifics or questioned management’s assumptions. It describes how questions were asked on the calls tracked here; it does not measure whether any view turned out to be right.
Rounding. Rates are rounded to whole percentages, so a small share can show as 0% even when some questions were challenging. The count beside each rate is exact; “none of N questions” means no question was challenging.
No questions recorded. “—” means there is nothing to calculate: no questions were recorded for that period on the calls tracked here. It does not mean there was no activity.
Fewer than 3 questions. A company-level rate is withheld when fewer than 3 questions were recorded for that company; the questions are still counted everywhere else.
Small samples. Profiles with fewer than 10 questions are marked Limited sample.
Reporting periods. Questions are grouped by the calendar quarter each company’s fiscal reporting period maps to, not by the date of the call. Periods without a calendar mapping are listed separately under their fiscal label.
Questions asked
Grouped by company, most questions first. Open a company to read its questions, newest reporting period first.
Showing 118 of 118 questions from 13 companies
LOWLowe's16 questions · 8 reporting periods · 0 of 16 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
Can you talk about the weather dynamics year-over-year?
Show response
Brandon said Memorial Day weekend was the main weather headline and one of the biggest DIY events of the year; on a two-year stack May-June-July accelerated across the quarter, exiting July at +3.4%, giving confidence in the trajectory into Q3.
Can you talk about the regional performance, and how you think about maybe that affects your business versus some of your peers?
Show response
Marvin said the company reviews geographies weekly and found no material difference other than weather, citing drought-like conditions in parts of the country and severe conditions in the Midwest as the biggest geographic drivers.
Calendar 2026 Q2
do you think there was any shift of spring out of the first quarter into the second quarter
Show response
Brandon explained February storms dragged 30bps on the quarter, March/April normalized, and Q2 positioned well with Memorial Day, Father's Day and July 4th events ahead.
how much maybe that helps your business, do you think it's helped so far this year
Show response
Brandon quantified that about 20% of refunds spent, 50% in savings, remainder offset higher fuel. Estimated $50B in refunds still to be distributed over 3-4 months. Q2 could see benefits from higher income consumers.
Calendar 2026 Q1
we haven't had a winter like this in perhaps a decade. You also have a larger relative, you know, outdoor business relative to your peers. Is there an analog?
Show response
Marvin expressed cautious optimism about spring recovery, citing best in-stocks and garden strategy in his tenure, 30M+ MyLowe's Rewards members, and conservative guidance that builds in uncertainty.
do you think the demand in the category is just starting to elevate at the margin?
Show response
Brandon unpacked 100bps hurricane lap headwind, 50bps storm benefit (200bps on January alone), and confirmed pleased with underlying demand across Pro, DIY, and DIFM. Bill cited broad strength in pro categories, paint, garden, flooring, kitchens and bath.
Calendar 2025 Q4
kitchen and bath, I think you said it was positive looking back, it seems like you'd have to go all the way back to 1Q '23. What's changed there?
Show response
Marvin attributed K&B strength to digitized Home Services with best-in-class tech stack. Bill cited vanity showroom resets and broad strength in toilets, faucets, sinks.
is the flat guide for the fourth quarter simply just like, hey, there's uncertainty and there's a harder compare
Show response
Brandon highlighted 2-year comp acceleration through the year and broad-based performance across 10/14 categories. Deferred FY26 specifics to February guidance call.
Calendar 2025 Q3
does these acquisitions, do you sort of like the investment in fulfillment and branches and warehouses grow with the business?
Show response
Marvin expects ongoing investment within existing CapEx framework, citing FBM as a platform with great ERP and AI technology that can be built out over time.
Did all of that happen? And is it fair to say that weather was net neutral or do you think it was maybe a tailwind or headwind
Show response
Brandon confirmed the large majority of the $400M shift materialized, with Memorial Day being the only period of weakness before acceleration through July.
Calendar 2025 Q2
Does that remain your expectation, given where tariff rates sit? And then there's never been so much focus on inventory accounting methods
Show response
Brandon confirmed flat gross margin for the year including tariff impacts, with FIFO meaning incremental costs flow in the second half as inventory layers turn.
do you think there was any impact to the business related to weather in the first quarter? Mid-single digits, very strong
Show response
Marvin confirmed weather impacted Pro in Q1 but performance improved as weather normalized, with adjusted April comps turning positive.
Calendar 2025 Q1
did you see election deferral? Was there any weather benefit sort of or weather benefit that maybe helped November and December?
Show response
Management directly addressed Q4 drivers including pro and online strength, hurricane benefit of ~100bps, and January weather drag of ~150bps.
Can you talk about the shape of gross margin over there? You are still expecting, I think, the vendor clawbacks to cycle into the first half
Show response
Brandon confirmed flat gross margin for the year with PPI offsetting investment in pro, supply chain, and customer value.
Calendar 2024 Q4
was the hurricane actually a net drag to earnings? It seems like that's what your point is too
Show response
high
It looks like DIY was maybe down 4%, the first half was down about 7%. Was this in line with your expectation?
Show response
high
AZOAutoZone14 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 14 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
So flat DIY, and it seems like you are implying a six-handle DIFM on a comp basis.
Show response
Jackson reframed the Q1 detail around exit-rate momentum (DIY rebound, commercial north of 9%) rather than confirming Horvers's precise 2% figure.
is the model that you're building predicated on 4% comps to drive SG&A leverage
Show response
Jackson rejected a fixed 4% leverage point, saying AutoZone can grow SG&A in line with sales and manage it down when sales soften, its historical muscle.
Calendar 2026 Q2
is there anything that you look at underneath the covers to say, like, there is an impact from energy prices, that is being more of the issue
Show response
Philip attributed regional strength to good winter supporting undercar categories. Jamere stressed continued productivity initiatives and expense discipline.
you do import more than some of your peers, especially with the private label penetration. That you have
Show response
Philip said tariff costs still cycling through inventory but being lapped. Jamere called the oil/energy situation fluid and said AZO will manage pricing transparently.
Calendar 2026 Q1
historically, does the business accelerate from that recent trend because of that
Show response
Management expects cold winter tailwinds plus larger tax refunds plus normal-to-hot summer to be positive for back half. All factors point to improvement.
what do you think the right underlying run rate of your domestic businesses is
Show response
Management confirmed Q2 would have been very similar to Q1 excluding weather. Commercial ran at 12%+ for 10 of 12 weeks. DIY remains resilient. See themselves performing in Q1 ZIP code going forward.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Can you talk about the growth opportunity in Mexico, about 900-ish stores? How big is your market share?
Show response
Management highlighted older car park by ~3 years, fragmented competition, and significant white space in southern Mexico and Mexico City.
is the LIFO numbers that you put out, Jamere, predicated on that 3% inflation in the balance of the year?
Show response
Management expects mid-single-digit inflation increments and LIFO charges in similar ZIP code. SG&A mid-single-digit per store growth, slightly back-half weighted.
Calendar 2025 Q2
can you talk about the persistence of some of these costs like the shrink and the self-insurance costs?
Show response
Management expects DC and shrink pressures to abate. Half of SG&A deleverage was self-insurance from growing commercial fleet plus settled claims.
Is it that the inflation is not here yet because people pause shipments coming out of China, and it's just a slow inventory turn business?
Show response
Management attributed delayed tariff impact to slow inventory turns for hard parts. Cost increases expected but mitigation strategies in place.
Calendar 2025 Q1
is the step-up true? Or do you expect to lap these investments at going?
Show response
Management confirmed intentional investment to capture market share, investing in assets, infrastructure, and IT for competitive advantage.
how should we think about your Mexico sourcing exposure? And any comments on whether the suppliers with facilities in the free trade zones
Show response
Management noted diversification efforts since 2016-17 tariff rounds, continued vendor negotiations, but acknowledged free trade zone impacts are still unclear.
Calendar 2024 Q4
can you talk about what's going on there? That seems, that level seems pretty consistent with where you've been
Show response
Management credited merchandising margin actions and supply base work. Noted new DCs are slight drag but overall positive trajectory.
To what extent do you see flexibility in your ability to just take it up, and keep that investment grade rating?
Show response
Management acknowledged flexibility to tick leverage up or down around 2.5x target while maintaining investment grade.
GPCGenuine Parts Company14 questions · 7 reporting periods · 2 of 14 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
Is there something that's going away? On the other side, what's accelerating to drive that improvement?
Show response
Bert credited sourcing and pricing initiatives plus easing acquisition comps for expected back-half gross margin expansion; direct.
What do you attribute the rebound in July to? Do you think some of that was weather
Show response
Bert cautioned against over-indexing on monthly cadence, attributing Q2 anomalies to Iran-related pre-buying, and framed July as in line with expectations; partial.
Calendar 2026 Q1
that 3% lags what Zone and O'Reilly have talked about, albeit in line with Advance
Show response
Bert attributed 20bp gross margin expansion (vs prior 120bp) to tough prior year comp and Q1 2025 having no tariff cost impact. Price and cost increases both in low single digits and aligned in Q1, limiting delta. Full-year 40-60bp gross margin expansion guidance reaffirmed.
to what extent do you expect that to be inflationary? And I guess, to what degree and is that baked into your guidance
Show response
Bert confirmed no material Section 232 impact yet. Tariff landscape has normalized with supplier discussions shifting to standard annual price increases. Freight-in capitalized into inventory factors into pricing strategy. Freight-out costs being absorbed near-term contributing to Q2 EBITDA headwind.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how are you thinking about the synergies of operating a global automotive business?
Show response
Will explained One GPC harmonization easier for standalone automotive than combined entity. Geographic-level specialized expertise still important. Cross-global opportunities harder and will take time. North America platform under Alain Masse has intra-geography value extraction opportunity.
Can you break out for us your expected CapEx and D&A in Motion and the Automotive business as you are planning 2026?
Show response
Bert declined segment-level CapEx split but provided activity breakdown: 50% IT, 30-35% supply chain modernization. CapEx orientation weights more towards Global Automotive given Motion is capital-light.
Calendar 2025 Q3
can you talk about what was same-SKU inflation in U.S. NAPA? And how are you thinking about incremental pricing coming through over the next couple of quarters
Show response
Bert confirmed full tariff run rate reached by end of Q3. U.S. Automotive benefit approximately 2.5%, Motion slightly stronger. Low single-digit top-line benefit and cost of goods sold impact expected to persist through Q4.
how would you characterize any dissynergies if the 2 businesses operated separately both from a purchasing standpoint as well as shared corporate costs
Show response
Bert deflected specific dissynergy quantification as hypothetical. Cited procurement leverage on both direct and indirect spend, Poland tech center benefits across entire business, and DC automation learnings cascading across segments.
Calendar 2025 Q2
maybe this gross margin expansion is you're taking too much price, and that's causing some share shift dynamic, share headwind dynamic
Show response
Will defended pricing positioning as science-driven and competitive at SKU level. Attributed independent underperformance to pace of adapting to uncertainty, noting roughly 2,000 independent owners take longer to adjust than corporate. Sequential improvement continuing as designed.
Can you talk about how you think about maybe the cadence of that? Is there an assumption that the tariff uncertainty dies down and that the organic growth rate accelerates
Show response
Will described self-help initiatives including restructured selling coverage, digital investments driving e-commerce to 40% of Motion sales, and improved customer engagement. Bert confirmed Motion growth accelerates Q3 then Q4 on easing comparisons.
Calendar 2025 Q1
is that slower trends there due to simply the markets that the independents tend to be in, more rural markets growing more slowly?
Show response
Will noted independent purchases showed sequential improvement through Q4 then choppy start to 2025 before strengthening in March and into April.
you saw a real step up in comps for motions. So could you talk a bit more about what drove that and what you're hearing from those customers
Show response
Will cited improved activity on capital-related projects, strong corporate accounts, and strengthening local MRO business driven by election certainty and de-stocking normalization.
Calendar 2024 Q4
can you give us some guidance on how you think about the progression of the comps over the year?
Show response
Bert clearly outlined back-half-weighted sales recovery with weak conditions persisting through H1 and improvement driven by PMI recovery.
Do you think the tariff is something that could remain an overhang, until it fully goes away, such that that pushes out that Motion recovery
Show response
Will detailed specific tariff exposure: 7% China, <5% Mexico/Canada for GPC overall. NAPA more exposed at 20% China, 15% Mexico. Team prepared to react.
HDThe Home Depot, Inc.11 questions · 6 reporting periods · 2 of 11 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
How do you look at the monthly performance during 2Q given the softer start where weather probably hurt
Show response
Billy explained the monthly cadence as weather-timing shifts (heat week moving from June to July, bad weather in week 14) that normalize to consistent underlying comps; Richard said SRS should deliver mid-single-digit organic growth.
Calendar 2026 Q2
How do you think about weather as an impact in the first quarter, particularly in April
Show response
Billy noted strong engagement in spring categories despite weather variability, with 56 basis points of storm impact in Q1 that will dissipate through the year.
how do you think about the symmetry of higher rates, i.e., if we stay at these level of mortgage rates
Show response
Ted emphasized consumer resilience citing similar PCE growth, strong employment and wage growth, and HD's core customer being among the healthiest consumers.
Calendar 2025 Q4
is there anything like unique that we should think about that this is not -- this is or is not the right level to start to think about building the business
Show response
Richard said Q4 has noise from 53rd week lap and seasonal low point for SRS/GMS. Full year guidance is better baseline. Pro forma SRS+GMS impact: 120bps gross margin, 60bps operating margin.
why wouldn't we think that the launch point into 2026 is, sort of one, or if not better, than this 1%
Show response
Ted acknowledged positive setup from tax reform but noted ongoing consumer uncertainty and housing turnover/prices as newer, near-term negatives. Richard flagged GMS pro forma impact for 2026 modeling.
Calendar 2025 Q3
there are a number of like puts and takes on in the back half around comp cadence that I'd love for you to talk about
Show response
Ted said no big uptick needed, US comps just need slight improvement from H1. FX flips from 55bps headwind to 25bps tailwind. No more hurricane comparisons to cycle through.
Could you compare and contrast the business relative to the roofing business, which is SRS's largest vertical?
Show response
Ted explained GMS adds complementary verticals with similar branch-based model, margins, and culture to SRS. Adds 400 distribution nodes to SRS's 800 for a combined 1,200 locations.
Calendar 2025 Q2
SG&A, I think, grew 12% year-over-year this quarter. That was a pretty sizable step up from the underlying growth rate
Show response
Richard explained SG&A growth driven by legal settlement overlap and addition of SRS expenses. Underlying expense leverage was exactly as expected for the comp environment.
there's a lot of noise out there with the weather, which you called out, perhaps some CNN effect given the news cycle
Show response
Ted argued worst macro fears have passed with stock market recovery, declining recession expectations, and Morning Consult showing improved consumer sentiment. Large project engagement still pending.
Calendar 2025 Q1
do you think, you know, that the weather had any influence on the business in in January in in any comment on exit rate
Show response
Richard acknowledged severe weather impact on January but cautioned against reading too much into it for exit run rate purposes.
Appliances were paint was up. You know, was that was that volume driven? And and to what extent do you think the category was up versus Home Depot
Show response
Ted highlighted broadest category performance in 2-3 years with healthy transactions and units, while Billy noted pull-forward effects have largely played out.
HASHasbro10 questions · 5 reporting periods · 0 of 10 challenging
Calendar 2025 Q4
could you help us and narrate that because you did have strong sales growth, and margins were down year over year.
Show response
Goetter confirmed good volume/mix and promotional discipline in Q4, but 60-65% of the $40M 2025 tariff cost hit in Q4, overwhelming margin gains. 2026 CP stays at 6-8% due to continued tariff headwind plus royalty step-up despite volume benefit.
Could you bucket the headwinds that bring you down from that between royalties digital gaming costs and tariffs?
Show response
Goetter detailed: volume/mix/pricing positive; royalties ~1-1.5pt drag (entertainment + UB); tariffs up from $40M to $60M with productivity offsetting but not adding; marketing step-up and product development increases as games approach launch.
Calendar 2025 Q3
maybe talk a little bit about what the gross net headwinds from tariffs were in the third quarter.
Show response
Goetter confirmed ~$20M Q3 tariff cost with more in Q4, total $60M for 2025. 2026 full-year tariff cost bigger but net impact being worked through mitigation. Cocks noted CP margins may be high-single-digits vs low-doubles if tariffs persist.
as you think about the content that you have for next year, is the strategy a little bit of like all of those UB sets combined are sort of like in aggregate, become bigger?
Show response
Cocks confirmed at least one 2026 set expected to rival/beat Final Fantasy. Also bullish on 2027+ partners. Noted strong backlist and halo effect where UB sets drive core IP sales too.
Calendar 2025 Q2
are you seeing prices steep in from others already in the market, and how do you think the U.S. consumer is reacting to tariffs at the category level?
Show response
Cocks noted industry up in Q2 (concentrated in TCG/building). Prices starting to creep up in May/June, will happen slowly SKU-by-SKU over months. Goetter added mix shifts to protect magic price points.
I'm curious if they're asking you to more directly bear the inventory risk, i.e., we'll fulfill it for you.
Show response
Cocks confirmed they have NOT seen marketplace inventory risk transfer requests, though DI-to-domestic is itself a risk shift.
Calendar 2025 Q1
can you talk through the different scenarios you're thinking about in the event the 145% on China holds? And how toy spend is impacted relative to the broader impact on the consumer's wallet.
Show response
Cocks detailed GFC-like scenario (mid-single-digit category decline) combined with COVID-era inflation assumptions. Noted toys as resilient small-luxury category with gift orientation.
what are your conversations with retailers like? There's media reports about some big players canceling orders from China, but it sounds like you're not seeing that.
Show response
Goetter confirmed no major cancellations from big three retailers. Cocks added seeing shift from direct import to domestic. Also noted Hasbro playing offense for shelf space opportunities.
Calendar 2024 Q4
there are a lot of questions that perhaps there was some holiday pull forward in general merchandise, February weakness, Hispanic consumer, weather, so on and so forth.
Show response
Cocks confirmed thesis is playing out in first six weeks. Goetter confirmed Q1 tracking with mid-to-high single-digit decline guidance. Limited detail given timing constraints.
could you contextualize them relative to your experience on an individual basis relative to the experience that you saw in Lord of the Rings, please?
Show response
Cocks provided specific sell-out comparison showing Final Fantasy preorders far exceeding LOTR pace. Noted Spider-Man will be standard-only (no Commander Decks) making it smaller but still high-demand.
BBYBest Buy8 questions · 4 reporting periods · 0 of 8 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
are you expecting any back-to-shift tailwind as you look over the next couple of weeks?
Show response
Corie said the shape is different from other retailers, with harder Q3 compares from the Windows 10 lap, but back-to-school and football-season timing are positives.
how much would you attribute to the improvement related to replacement versus just the AI cycle is here
Show response
Jason said there was more Windows 10 upgrade volume last year and a gradual shift toward AI-enabled innovation; Corie said no material pull-forward was observed after price-increase announcements.
Calendar 2025 Q4
can you talk about what you're seeing here in November
Show response
Matt noted lapping 5% November growth from last year (4% full month). Shape will differ: November tougher, December easier (-2% comp last year). Expecting people to gravitate to big events in the weeks before Christmas. Still feels opportunity to grow sales for the quarter.
what you're seeing in terms of like the benefit of both businesses to the gross margin line in the second half?
Show response
Matt confirmed both ads and marketplace helped GP rate in H2. Marketplace scales with GMV and net commissions; ads expanding into new verticals. OI impact depends on how much they invest next year. Corie added the goal is staying relevant with customers and driving units, the flywheel that feeds all business parts.
Calendar 2025 Q3
How are you actually planning that? As you do get into the fourth quarter
Show response
Matt confirmed gaming growth planned for both Q3 and Q4, with Q4 comp guide inferred to be similar to Q3. On earnings, they said they haven't changed OI rate guide but will try to drive better performance from higher sales. Jason added excitement about total gaming portfolio including handheld gaming beyond Switch.
is elasticity surprising you in either direction?
Show response
Corie reiterated tariff impact was not material in Q2. Matt noted August quarter-to-date comps are low-single digits with strong back-to-school response, but acknowledged October typically slows as consumers wait for holiday deals.
Calendar 2025 Q1
That 1 point headwind on the 10% tariff from China, is that assuming that you raise price
Show response
Matt explained the 1% impact is a combination of unit decreases and slight ASP increase, with costs flowing mainly in Q2-Q4 due to 6 weeks of supply on hand.
how you're thinking about the Mexico exposure
Show response
Corie confirmed ~20% sourced from Mexico; Jason noted it impacts exclusive brands, large-screen TVs, and appliances.
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COSTCostco Wholesale Corporation8 questions · 8 reporting periods · 0 of 8 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
do you think that grocery inflation number, the low single digit, has a bit of an inflection coming?
Show response
Gary declined to forecast a grocery-inflation inflection, citing Middle East oil volatility and tariff uncertainty, and pointed to recent stable trends.
Calendar 2026 Q2
is there a change in the rationality of the overall market or is this simply just something opportunistic
Show response
Gary and Ron described pricing as rational and strategic, citing getting into lower-cost goods earlier (eggs) consistent with first-to-lower, last-to-raise.
Calendar 2026 Q1
There's been a lot of noise in January and February on the weather, whether there was a net benefit to January
Show response
Gary said weather created volatility but wasn't material to total sales, though Northeast storms closed 55 warehouses and dented February traffic, and said gold-driven noise is just part of the consistent 6-7% comp trend that has held through calendar and tariff shifts.
Calendar 2025 Q4
it looks like executive members per week grew at an accelerated pace from 4Q to January
Show response
Gary pushed back on month-to-month noise, pointed to 6.5% average comps over seven months, confirmed ~1% lift from extended hours helped offset cycling of gold/gift-card comps, and said upgrades accelerated post-launch.
Calendar 2025 Q3
So my question has to do with the extended member hours. To what extent do you think that
Show response
Ron said the 1% weekly US sales lift came from analyzing traffic after the June 30 launch, and Gary added that national-launch visibility plus social media coverage helped the benefit show through faster than prior hour changes.
Calendar 2025 Q2
when Ron, when you mentioned that it improved in the latter half of the latter part of the quarter, is that
Show response
Ron said the delta improvement came from hard focus on lowering prices, and that buyers pulled summer patio and sporting goods forward ahead of tariffs.
Calendar 2025 Q1
do you think about the 8+% core comp that you saw in the month of February? Did you see any weather headwinds
Show response
Ron covered both parts: minor weather offset, and said buyers will work with suppliers on tariffed grocery items.
Calendar 2024 Q4
can you talk about what drove the core on core margin performance this quarter? You have the MFI now rolling through
Show response
Gary broke down core on core by category. Ron emphasized continued price investment led by Kirkland Signature, asking vendors to contribute lower prices.
TGTTarget Corporation8 questions · 5 reporting periods · 2 of 8 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
are there more refunds potentially coming later this year? And then as we think about sort of the underlying earnings
Show response
Directed investors to anchor on adjusted EPS ex-refunds, up 20% in Q2 and 24% year-to-date.
Can you maybe talk about just you have seen in terms of what just happened with the reset there
Show response
Acknowledged Home/apparel are longer lead-time; framed Home as a multi-year journey.
Calendar 2026 Q2
what gives you the confidence to raise to the upper end of the range at this point in the year?
Show response
Fiddelke said early consumer response to changes provides encouragement, emphasized this is first of a series of ambitious years, and closed with thanks to the team for executing Q1 plans.
Calendar 2026 Q1
to what extent are you baking in more normalized promotion levels, more normalized markdown levels into the guide? And if the answer is the offsets the tariff cost, can you maybe dimensionalize how...
Show response
Horvers probes whether the gross margin guide normalizes promotion levels after a period of tight inventory. Fiddelke reframes: the goal is chase mode with demand slightly ahead of buys. Jim adds that tariff-related costs and inventory adjustment costs were significant, with much driven by the Q1 sales dropoff not expected to repeat.
Calendar 2025 Q2
Is that 120 a good number to think about for the rest of the year? Or was this some sort of -- was there a catch-up adjustment
Show response
Jim acknowledges Q1 included a catch-up component but expects to recover the vast majority of the remaining shrink headwinds.
Is your expectation that comps turn positive in the back half or by the fourth quarter?
Show response
Jim Lee directly states comps will remain negative through Q4, with inventory adjustment costs mostly resolved in first half.
Calendar 2025 Q1
inventory is up 7%. I know you talked about it a little bit. To what extent are you baking in some excess clearance and promotional pressure?
Show response
Brian Cornell pivots to forward-looking seasonal opportunities rather than directly addressing potential clearance pressure from elevated inventory.
Target Plus going from $1 billion to $5 billion, it's a big number, that's big growth. Is that -- what's driving that?
Show response
Cara explains Target Plus growth is driven by complementing owned assortment with national brands, particularly in home and apparel breadth.
WMTWalmart Inc.7 questions · 7 reporting periods · 2 of 7 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
So could you help us think about how much of that slowdown in Gen Merch was stimulus related versus gas prices
Show response
Rainey and Guggina attributed Q1 strength partly to stimulus and Q2 pressure to higher gas, but pointed to strong back-to-college and triple-digit comps in private fashion brands.
Calendar 2026 Q2
How are you thinking about how the consumer behavior changed?
Show response
Rainey detailed consumer bifurcation: high-income spending with confidence, lower-income stressed. Cited fuel gallons as a stress signal. On inflation, noted like-for-like was 1%+ with egg deflation masking ~100bp; expects upward pressure if fuel persists.
Calendar 2026 Q1
the progression of marketplace growth
Show response
Rainey said marketplace still in investment phase with no profitability timeline given and leaning more into growth right now. Categories like cook and dine fashion home decor all grew north of 40%. Walmart Fulfillment Services now at 52% seller penetration and too good a service to not use. Tax refund increase in guidance with assumptions about how much saved versus spent and timing between quarters. Walmart highly levered to refund changes. Guidance assumes increase in tax refunds this year.
Calendar 2025 Q4
The low single-digit performance in Walmart U.S.
Show response
Furner said always looking for ways to keep prices low and invest in price. Holiday Thanksgiving meal feeding 10 people for just under $4 with turkeys at $0.97 per pound lowest since 2019. Merchants start every week talking about unit growth with unit share focus in food particularly fresh. Unit share growth stronger in quarter than dollar share. Some egg deflation expected ahead which is in forecast. Beef inflation from commodity cycle will take longer to work out.
Calendar 2025 Q3
your largest competitor expanding grocery delivery
Show response
McMillon said been doing this a long time and competition keeps getting better which is factored into plan. Expects the best to get stronger meaning Walmart must keep doing same. Customers want price growing assortment and improved shopping experience. Convenience been driving business for a while and will continue. Stays focused on what is happening with the customer rather than competition.
Calendar 2025 Q2
strong gains with upper income households
Show response
Furner said customers remain choiceful and consistent prioritizing value and speed of delivery. Saw growth across all income cohorts with new customers in April. Quarter shaped by leap year lapping and late Easter with February soft from weather then strong March and very strong April. Sub-three-hour delivery growing 91% with expanding FC capacity for same next and two day delivery. Nicholas said Sam's model resonates across income levels giving back power of time with 10% membership income growth driven by more renewals new members and higher plus participation.
Calendar 2024 Q4
Can you speak to the changes in the 4Q operating income guide relative to where you started the year ex the FX change?
Show response
Doug noted modest Q4 improvement with shrink performing better than expected. JDR said eCommerce profitability is a long-term game and they won't rush to a threshold.
ORLYO'Reilly Automotive6 questions · 3 reporting periods · 1 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
how would you diagnose what looks like a 2-point slowdown sequentially on gas versus DIY
Show response
Fletcher walked through the Q1 tax-refund and weather benefit versus Q2 normalization and declined to attribute the step-down to gas prices.
are you seeing sort of product cost increase requests give related to you know, the fuel cost of shipping products
Show response
Fletcher separated inbound acquisition cost from domestic operating fuel cost, said the former passes through rationally and the latter sits inside normal SG&A.
Calendar 2026 Q1
is it fair to say you generally pass along any product cost inflation from commodities or higher ocean freight, but probably absorb the impact of higher domestic fuel costs
Show response
Jeremy confirmed framework: acquisition cost increases (including freight) are treated as product cost and passed through, while operating fuel costs are managed within broader SG&A context.
is it fair to say that quarter-to-date trends are continuing to hunt in that double-digit range
Show response
Jeremy noted seasonal moderation in April vs March strength but said business is running strong and better than expected, though early in the quarter.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Can you talk about your latest thoughts around the U.S. store potential? And maybe Mexico and Canada as well
Show response
Brad noted the U.S. store potential estimate keeps increasing annually with consolidation. Mexico is a huge untapped opportunity where they have been rebuilding capability post-pandemic. Canada officially enters greenfield growth in 2026.
is that elasticity function getting worse? Or I guess, why wouldn't your comp be higher than the inflation that you expect in the fourth quarter?
Show response
Jeremy noted the Q4 comparison is the most difficult of the year and emphasized they are not forecasting worsening DIY pressure. The cautious stance reflects seasonal variability and early-stage consumer response, not a deteriorating trend.
ULTAUlta Beauty6 questions · 5 reporting periods · 0 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
your sales came in better than the 2-year stack math for the second quarter. That would seem to imply some sort of acceleration from the time of the first quarter call
Show response
Management confirmed sales picked up through the quarter and framed the back-half guide around a meaningful 2025 comp step-up and macro prudence rather than a Q2-specific one-off, noting the full-year sales guide was raised meaningfully.
Calendar 2026 Q1
In a 2% to 4% industry growth, is that a deceleration versus 2025? And then to what extent are you baking in the geopolitical backdrop?
Show response
Kecia outlined four factors behind 2.5-3.5% comp guide: consumer demand (cautious but beauty resilient), promotional environment (no plans to accelerate), normalized pricing, and 2-4% category growth. Easier comps in H1 vs H2. Rare Beauty embedded in guidance already.
can you talk about what the early response is to Rare Beauty? How should we size it in terms of an analog?
Show response
Kecia confirmed Rare Beauty came out of gates strong with halo impact on makeup category. FY2025 newness contribution was ~30% of growth (high end of 20-30% range). Pleased with February trends. But emphasized it's one brand among 600 and doesn't change entire course of business.
Calendar 2025 Q3
How much do you attribute to the fact that you've seen the competitive encroachment fade, Kohl Sephora comp flat versus what you're doing
Show response
Kecia attributed gains primarily to own execution (conversion, NPS improvements, newness, marketing) while acknowledging competitive cycling is also a factor. Didn't quantify the split.
Calendar 2025 Q2
How much do you think it was just maybe just the fade of this headwind versus your better execution?
Show response
Kecia acknowledged both lapping competitive openings and operational improvements contributing. Noted Q2 last year was tougher comp with more promo activity, and in-stocks improving.
Calendar 2024 Q4
are you positive quarter-to-date? You mentioned encourage -- and how are you thinking about the balance between the five fewer days
Show response
Oyibo declined to share specific quarter-to-date comp, offering only qualitative encouragement. Reiterated Investor Day directional color: 2024-2025 transitional with operating margin floor above 11%.
WSMWilliams-Sonoma6 questions · 5 reporting periods · 1 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
How are you thinking about deploying the residual refunds outside of what you already communicated
Show response
Laura said no other deployment decisions have been made; the cash simply adds flexibility to fund the highest-returning initiatives.
Calendar 2026 Q2
does that 60 million of tariff cost that is hung up in inventory right now essentially flow through in the second quarter
Show response
Howie confirmed only a portion of the $60M flows through in Q2, with Q2 being peak tariff impact before moderating across the back half.
can you maybe talk about the West Elm acceleration a bit more
Show response
Alber attributed West Elm's acceleration to multiple drivers including Emma Chamberlain collaboration bringing younger customers, category fill across furniture, and core category strength.
Calendar 2025 Q4
why couldn't the growth rate just stay at the growth rate considering where we are?
Show response
Laura said no evidence of pull-forward and growth rate could stay the same or higher. Wide range reflects fewer planned promotions vs last year. Tariff impact in Q4 will be sizably more than Q3. Supply chain continues to find new efficiencies. Ex-tariff op margin is expanding.
Calendar 2025 Q3
was there some elasticity perhaps that showed up?
Show response
Jeff noted comps have been consistent at 3.1%, 3.4%, 3.7%, no spike indicating pull-forward. Elasticity is SKU-specific: more differentiated products have less elasticity.
Calendar 2025 Q2
to what extent do you think the strong comp that you posted was affected directionally to the positive or to the negative?
Show response
Jeff said no evidence of pull-forward. Consistent comp trend across quarters. Laura added furniture improvement driven by newness, not macro. Emphasized proprietary design competitive advantage.
TSCOTractor Supply4 questions · 4 reporting periods · 0 of 4 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q1
how do you think about the headwinds in the category between sort of like structural versus a mix sort of headwind
Show response
Hal said 80% dog / 20% cat vs 60/40 market. 75% of customers own a dog, 50%+ own a cat. Share growing in both dog and cat individually (mid-to-high single digit basis points) but mix makes total food share flat. Were gaining ~20bps overall share in 2022-2023. Cat expansion in pilot stores showing performance improvement.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how do those build? Like when do you think that will become sort of a greater portion of the comp such that the overall trends become a lot less macro sensitive
Show response
Hal said initiatives will provide material comp benefit in 2026. Direct sales alone estimated at ~40 basis points of comp contribution. 50 reps doing $2M/month in December, eclipsed that in January. Pet Rx scaling up to add further contribution.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Was whether you think that 50, 60 basis point lift from the shift from 2Q to 3Q on the seasonal business, do you think it was less of a tailwind considering what happened in September
Show response
Kurt said Q3 was overall favorable weather with roughly a point of comp benefit. Q4 ticket expected similar to slightly higher than Q3 driven by stable commodities plus tariff cost flow-through. Some elasticity volatility possible in Q4.
Calendar 2025 Q2
do you think that the weather was a net headwind in the second quarter? Perhaps that the right trend is 2% as we're building into the back half?
Show response
Spring delayed 4-6 weeks on start, extended beyond July 4. Implied H2 comp is higher than 2%. Kurt confirmed incremental inflation expected across product categories, not just commodities.
Challenge rate by company
Every company this analyst questioned, most questions first. A company-level rate is shown from 3 questions; below that it is withheld.
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| LOW Lowe's | 16 | 0%none of 16 questions |
| AZO AutoZone | 14 | 0%none of 14 questions |
| GPC Genuine Parts Company | 14 | 14%2 of 14 questions |
| HD The Home Depot, Inc. | 11 | 18%2 of 11 questions |
| HAS Hasbro | 10 | 0%none of 10 questions |
| BBY Best Buy | 8 | 0%none of 8 questions |
| COST Costco Wholesale Corporation | 8 | 0%none of 8 questions |
| TGT Target Corporation | 8 | 25%2 of 8 questions |
| WMT Walmart Inc. | 7 | 29%2 of 7 questions |
| ORLY O'Reilly Automotive | 6 | 17%1 of 6 questions |
- LOWLowe's · 16 questions0%none of 16 questions
- AZOAutoZone · 14 questions0%none of 14 questions
- GPCGenuine Parts Company · 14 questions14%2 of 14 questions
- HDThe Home Depot, Inc. · 11 questions18%2 of 11 questions
- HASHasbro · 10 questions0%none of 10 questions
- BBYBest Buy · 8 questions0%none of 8 questions
- COSTCostco Wholesale Corporation · 8 questions0%none of 8 questions
- TGTTarget Corporation · 8 questions25%2 of 8 questions
- WMTWalmart Inc. · 7 questions29%2 of 7 questions
- ORLYO'Reilly Automotive · 6 questions17%1 of 6 questions
Activity by reporting period
Questions recorded for each calendar quarter that companies’ reporting periods map to (not the call date), with the challenge rate for that period. Periods inside the range with no questions are shown as “No questions recorded”.
| Calendar period | Questions | Challenge rate | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q4 | 11 | 0%none of 11 questions | 7 |
| 2025 Q1 | 15 | 7%1 of 15 questions | 8 |
| 2025 Q2 | 17 | 12%2 of 17 questions | 11 |
| 2025 Q3 | 19 | 11%2 of 19 questions | 12 |
| 2025 Q4 | 14 | 14%2 of 14 questions | 9 |
| 2026 Q1 | 14 | 7%1 of 14 questions | 9 |
| 2026 Q2 | 15 | 7%1 of 15 questions | 9 |
| 2026 Q3 | 13 | 8%1 of 13 questions | 9 |
- 2024 Q411 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 11 questions) · 7 companies
- 2025 Q115 questions · challenge rate 7% (1 of 15 questions) · 8 companies
- 2025 Q217 questions · challenge rate 12% (2 of 17 questions) · 11 companies
- 2025 Q319 questions · challenge rate 11% (2 of 19 questions) · 12 companies
- 2025 Q414 questions · challenge rate 14% (2 of 14 questions) · 9 companies
- 2026 Q114 questions · challenge rate 7% (1 of 14 questions) · 9 companies
- 2026 Q215 questions · challenge rate 7% (1 of 15 questions) · 9 companies
- 2026 Q313 questions · challenge rate 8% (1 of 13 questions) · 9 companies
Topics
Topics tagged on this analyst’s questions.
- Demand52
- Revenue Growth26
- Trade Tariffs24
- Pricing23
- Margin23
- Macroeconomic22
- Competitive Dynamics20
- Cost Pressure11
- Guidance Reliability11
- Supply Chain6
Show all 19 topics
- Inventory6
- Capital Allocation5
- Product Launch4
- Capex Investment3
- M&A3
- Subscriber Growth2
- Geographic Expansion2
- Innovation & R&D2
- Cloud & AI1