By Roshan Fernandez

Shares of Monro soared after the auto service chain swung to positive same-store sales and said the economic climate favors its business.

Shares were up 36% to $17.36 during Wednesday's trading, on track for largest ever single-day percentage increase, based on data going back to its initial public offering in 1991.

The Fairport, N.Y.-based company said its same-store sales, adjusted for six fewer selling days in the fourth quarter, increased 2.8%. The year-ago period had a 7.2% decrease in same-store sales. Analysts polled by FactSet expected sales to be nearly flat at 0.2%.

That shift was driven by an increase in comparable sales in the front end and shocks category, up 27%, and in battery sales, up 25%, the company said.

"The economic environment favors our type of service," said Peter Fitzsimmons, who took over as CEO in late March. "For automotive aftermarket service companies like ourselves, there's going to continue to be a need to replace tires and provide other services."

Fitzsimmons said Monro can increase its operating income this year without significant improvement in the economy.

The company is also closing 145 underperforming stores during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. Those stores generated about 5% of total sales, some of which will be recaptured by nearby locations, Fitzsimmons said.

The closures are "expected to deliver meaningful improvement in profitability," Fitzsimmons said. Monro doesn't anticipate any other closings this year, he said.

Revenue fell 4.9% to $295 million during the fourth fiscal quarter. That beat analysts expectations of $290 million.

The company didn't provide full-year guidance for 2026, but Chief Financial Officer Brian D'Ambrosia said they expect year-over-year comparable sales growth, driven by an improvement plan and tariff-related price increases.

"We expect that we may need to adjust prices to our consumers to counter the impact of tariff-related cost increases," Fitzsimmons said. "We are currently evaluating the full impact."

Write to Roshan Fernandez at roshan.fernandez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 28, 2025 11:53 ET (15:53 GMT)

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