General	9 Months Ended
May 09, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
General	Note A – General The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) rules and regulations. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, including normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the AutoZone, Inc. (“AutoZone” or the “Company”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2014. Operating results for the twelve and thirty-six weeks ended May 9, 2015, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending August 29, 2015. Each of the first three quarters of AutoZone’s fiscal year consists of 12 weeks, and the fourth quarter consists of 16 or 17 weeks. The fourth quarters for fiscal 2015 and 2014 each have 16 weeks. Additionally, the Company’s business is somewhat seasonal in nature, with the highest sales generally occurring during the months of February through September and the lowest sales generally occurring in the months of December and January. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements: In August 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern. ASU 2014-15 will require management to assess an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for each annual and interim reporting period and to provide related footnote disclosure in circumstances in which substantial doubt exists. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2014-15 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements as the application of this guidance affects disclosure only. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017. In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-01, Income Statement – Extraordinary and Unusual Items. ASU 2015-01 eliminates from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items. ASU 2015-01 eliminates the separate presentation of extraordinary items but does not change the requirement to disclose material items that are unusual or infrequent in nature. Eliminating the concept of extraordinary items will allow the entity to no longer have to assess whether a particular event or transaction is both unusual in nature and infrequent in occurrence. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-01 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. ASU 2015-03 requires debt issuance costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a reduction of the related debt liability rather than an asset. The update requires retrospective application and represents a change in accounting principle. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-03 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements, as the application of this guidance affects classification only. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-04, Compensation – Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Practical Expedient for the Measurement Date of an Employer’s Defined Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets. ASU 2015-04 allows companies a choice to measure defined benefit plan assets and obligations using the month-end that is closest to the entity’s fiscal year-end and apply that practical expedient consistently from year-to-year. The practical expedient should be applied consistently to all plans if an entity has more than one plan. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-04 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2017 first quarter. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other – Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement. ASU 2015-05 clarifies the accounting treatment for fees paid by a customer in cloud computing arrangements. Under the revised guidance, if a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If the cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The revised guidance will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. Upon adoption, a reporting entity can elect to apply the new guidance prospectively after the effective date, or retrospectively. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-05 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2017 first quarter.

Note A – General

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) rules and regulations. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, including normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the AutoZone, Inc. (“AutoZone” or the “Company”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2014.

Operating results for the twelve and thirty-six weeks ended May 9, 2015, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending August 29, 2015. Each of the first three quarters of AutoZone’s fiscal year consists of 12 weeks, and the fourth quarter consists of 16 or 17 weeks. The fourth quarters for fiscal 2015 and 2014 each have 16 weeks. Additionally, the Company’s business is somewhat seasonal in nature, with the highest sales generally occurring during the months of February through September and the lowest sales generally occurring in the months of December and January.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements: In August 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern. ASU 2014-15 will require management to assess an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for each annual and interim reporting period and to provide related footnote disclosure in circumstances in which substantial doubt exists. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2014-15 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements as the application of this guidance affects disclosure only. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017.

In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-01, Income Statement – Extraordinary and Unusual Items. ASU 2015-01 eliminates from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items. ASU 2015-01 eliminates the separate presentation of extraordinary items but does not change the requirement to disclose material items that are unusual or infrequent in nature. Eliminating the concept of extraordinary items will allow the entity to no longer have to assess whether a particular event or transaction is both unusual in nature and infrequent in occurrence. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-01 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. ASU 2015-03 requires debt issuance costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a reduction of the related debt liability rather than an asset. The update requires retrospective application and represents a change in accounting principle. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-03 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements, as the application of this guidance affects classification only. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its annual period ending August 26, 2017.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-04, Compensation – Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Practical Expedient for the Measurement Date of an Employer’s Defined Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets. ASU 2015-04 allows companies a choice to measure defined benefit plan assets and obligations using the month-end that is closest to the entity’s fiscal year-end and apply that practical expedient consistently from year-to-year. The practical expedient should be applied consistently to all plans if an entity has more than one plan. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-04 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2017 first quarter.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other – Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement. ASU 2015-05 clarifies the accounting treatment for fees paid by a customer in cloud computing arrangements. Under the revised guidance, if a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If the cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The revised guidance will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. Upon adoption, a reporting entity can elect to apply the new guidance prospectively after the effective date, or retrospectively. The Company does not expect the provision of ASU 2015-05 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2017 first quarter.