There are companies that, having reached maturity, stop growing and have no choice but to cannibalize themselves - to buy back their shares - to ensure increased earnings per share.
Then there are the companies which, entirely focused on rapid expansion, devote all their resources and the capital they have repeatedly raised - resulting in a considerable increase in the number of shares in circulation - to financing their growth drive.
And then there are companies like AutoZone, which grow and cannibalize themselves at the same time. The American group, it has to be said, is located in the best segment of the entire automotive industry: the retail sale of spare parts, a low-capital-intensive, high-margin business.
AutoZone has doubled its sales over the last decade, while maintaining its impressive operating margins to the nearest decimal point. At the same time, it has exactly halved the number of its outstanding shares through massive share buy-backs. These simultaneous dynamics resulted in a five-fold increase in earnings per share over the period.
It was the quality of the business model - highly profitable - that made this feat possible, as AutoZone generated $8 billion in additional sales from just $1 billion reinvested in its business. The $18 billion in profits accumulated over the decade was entirely devoted to share buybacks.
A few days ago, AutoZone announced a change of CEO. Bill Rhodes will be succeeded by a company veteran: Philip B. Daniele, who already has 29 years' experience in various marketing and logistics capacities.
AutoZone, Inc. specializes in distributing automotive spare parts and accessories. The group offers compressors, batteries, carburetors, clutches, des rotors, des motors, fuel pumps, etc. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- retail and professional distribution (98.2%): sale of spare parts primarily to garages and service stations;
- other (1.8%): sales of diagnostic and maintenance software (name Alldata), and an e-commerce division.
At the end of August 2023, AutoZone, Inc. had a network of 7,140 stores located in the United States and Puerto Rico (6,300), Mexico (740) and Brazil (100).
AUTOZONE, INC. 
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