ASO - Academy Sports + Outdoors Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results

Third Quarter GAAP Diluted EPS of $1.31 , or $1.38 Adjusted Diluted EPS

Net Sales Decline (6.4)% ; Comparable Sales Decline (8.0)%

The Company Opened Five New Stores During the Third Quarter and a Total of 14 in 2023

New $600 Million Share Repurchase Program Announced

KATY, Texas, Nov. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASO) ("Academy" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the third quarter date ended October 28, 2023.

"Our sales and net earnings for the third quarter came in below expectations, primarily driven by weakening consumer sentiment coupled with above normal temperatures that negatively impacted demand for Fall product. Over the past year we have seen customers change their shopping patterns and aggregate trips into the key shopping moments on the calendar and we expect to see this pattern continue this holiday season," said Chief Executive Officer, Steve Lawrence. "During the fourth quarter, we are focused on providing excellent customer service, offering new and innovative gifts and driving traffic to our stores and website with aggressive marketing that features the outstanding values we are offering our customers to help them stretch their wallets as they celebrate this holiday season with their families. Beyond this holiday, we remain focused on executing our long-term strategy and investing in our growth initiatives. We believe that we have a solid operating model, a strong value position and deep customer affinity that will allow us to continue to grow and expand our footprint.”

Subsequent to the end of the third quarter, on November 29, 2023, Academy's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on January 10, 2024, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 13, 2023. The Board also approved a new, three-year, $600 million share repurchase program, bringing the total amount currently available under both share repurchase programs to approximately $700 million.

Carl Ford, Chief Financial Officer, said, "In this challenging macro-economic environment, Academy remains focused on expense control and inventory management in order to maintain healthy margins and optimize cash flow. This strategy enables us to maintain a strong balance sheet as well as self-fund our strategic initiatives. We are also focused on creating shareholder value, demonstrated by the $44 million of share buybacks and $7 million of dividends paid to shareholders during the quarter."

New Store Openings
Academy opened five new stores during the third quarter and seven new stores in November, completing its annual openings for 2023. The Company opened a total of 14 stores in 2023.

2023 Outlook
Based on year-to-date results and current business trends, Academy is narrowing its guidance for fiscal 2023 as follows:

The earnings per common share guidance reflects a tax rate of approximately 22.0% and does not include any potential future share repurchases.

Conference Call Info
Academy will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results. The call will be webcast at investors.academy.com . The following information is provided for those who would like to participate in the conference call:

A replay of the conference call will be available for approximately 30 days on the Company's website.

About Academy Sports + Outdoors
Academy is a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. Originally founded in 1938 as a family business in Texas, Academy has grown to 275 stores across 18 states as of quarter end. Academy’s mission is to provide “Fun for All” and Academy fulfills this mission with a localized merchandising strategy and value proposition that strongly connects with a broad range of consumers. Academy’s product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, footwear and sports & recreation through both leading national brands and a portfolio of private label brands.

Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Common Share, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow have been presented in this press release as supplemental measures of financial performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP measures is useful to investors as it provides additional information on comparisons between periods by excluding certain items that affect overall comparability. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for business planning purposes, to consider underlying trends of its business, and in measuring its performance relative to others in the market, and believes presenting these measures also provides information to investors and others for understanding and evaluating trends in the Company’s operating results or measuring performance in the same manner as the Company’s management. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company’s reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The calculation of these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures reported by other companies and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures. For additional information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 (the "Annual Report"), which may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov .

See “Reconciliations of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on Academy’s current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements may incorporate words such as “believe,” “expect,” “forward,” “ahead,” “opportunities,” “plans,” “priorities,” “goals,” “future,” “short/long term,” “will,” “should,” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. The forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding the Company’s fiscal 2023 outlook, the Company’s strategic plans and financial objectives, growth of the Company’s business and operations, the Company’s payment of dividends and declaration of future dividends, including the timing and amount thereof, share repurchases by the Company, the Company's expectations regarding its future performance, and future financial condition, and other such matters, and are subject to various risks, uncertainties, assumptions, or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional, or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors that could affect overall consumer spending or our industry, including the possible effects of ongoing macroeconomic challenges, inflation and increases in interest rates, or changes to the financial health of our customers, many of which are beyond Academy's control. These and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in Academy's filings with the SEC, including the Annual Report and the Company’s Quarterly Report for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2023, under the caption "Risk Factors," as may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this release. Academy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

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ACADEMY SPORTS AND OUTDOORS, INC.
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(Unaudited)

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBIT
We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as net income (loss) before interest expense, net, income tax expense and depreciation, amortization, and impairment, and other adjustments included in the table below. We define “Adjusted EBIT” as Adjusted EBITDA less depreciation and amortization. We describe these adjustments reconciling net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBIT in the following table (amounts in thousands):

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Common Share

We define “Adjusted Net Income” as net income (loss) plus other adjustments, less the tax effect of these adjustments. We define “Adjusted Earnings per Common Share, Basic” as Adjusted Net Income divided by the basic weighted average common shares outstanding during the period and “Adjusted Earnings per Common Share, Diluted” as Adjusted Net Income divided by the diluted weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. We describe these adjustments reconciling net income (loss) to Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings Per Common Share in the following table (amounts in thousands, except per share data):

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Common Share, Diluted, Guidance Reconciliation (amounts in millions, except per share data)

Adjusted Free Cash Flow

We define “Adjusted Free Cash Flow” as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less net cash used in investing activities. We describe these adjustments reconciling net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow in the following table (amounts in thousands):

Adjusted Free Cash Flow, Guidance Reconciliation (amounts in millions)