General (Policies)

5 Months Ended

Feb. 11, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Fiscal Period

Operating results for the twelve and twenty-four weeks ended February 11, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending August 26, 2017. 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 2017 and 2016 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 Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements: In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvement to Employee Share-based Payment Accounting. ASU 2016-09 simplifies several aspects of accounting for share-based payments transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted this standard on August 28, 2016. The Company has applied the amendment requiring recognition of excess tax deficiencies and tax benefits in the income statement prospectively. The adoption of the new standard increased earnings per share for the twelve week period ended February 11, 2017 by $0.37, driven by a lower effective tax rate of 358 basis points (a $0.43 benefit to earnings per share), partially offset by a change to the dilutive outstanding shares calculation (a $0.06 reduction to earnings per share). The adoption of the new standard increased earnings per share for the twenty-four week period ended February 11, 2017 by $0.40, driven by a lower effective tax rate of 202 basis points (a $0.53 benefit to earnings per share), partially offset by a change to the dilutive outstanding shares calculation (a $0.13 reduction to earnings per share). The Company has applied the amendment relating to the presentation of the excess tax benefits on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows retrospectively, resulting in the reclassification of $31.9 million of excess tax benefits from cash flows from financing activities to cash flows from operating activities for the twenty-four weeks ended February 13, 2016. The Company will continue to estimate forfeitures of share-based awards.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements: In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory. ASU 2016-16 requires that an entity recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of assets other than inventory when the transfer occurs. The guidance must be applied using the modified retrospective basis. The Company does not expect the provisions of ASU 2016-16 to have a material impact on its financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company at the beginning of its fiscal 2019 year.

In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2016-20 provides correction or improvement to the guidance previously issued in ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Under ASU 2014-09, an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers at an amount that reflects what it expects in exchange for the goods or services. It also requires more detailed disclosures to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of the provisions of the ASUs on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company at the beginning of its fiscal 2019 year.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. ASU 2017-01 provides guidance to assist entities in evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The updated guidance requires a prospective adoption. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the provisions of ASU 2017-01 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2019 first quarter.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. ASU 2017-04 eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test and instead requires an entity to perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. The entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The updated guidance requires a prospective adoption. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the effects of the provisions of ASU 2017-04 on its consolidated financial statements. This update will be effective for the Company beginning with its fiscal 2021 first quarter.