Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on O'Reilly Automotive Stock?

Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on O'Reilly Automotive Stock?

Neha Panjwani

Thu, August 27, 2026 at 5:44 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• ORLY +0.76%
• ^GSPC -0.25%

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY), headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, is a leading retailer and supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories. Valued at $73.1 billion by market cap, the company sells its products to do-it-yourself customers, professional mechanics, and service technicians.

Shares of this auto parts giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. ORLY has declined 13.2% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 18.7%. In 2026, ORLY's stock fell 1.8%, compared to the SPX's 12.1% rise on a YTD basis.

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Narrowing the focus, ORLY's underperformance is also apparent compared to the VanEck Retail ETF (RTH). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 6.8% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF's 6.1% returns on a YTD basis outshine the stock's dip over the same time frame.

ORLY has faced pressure primarily due to softening demand in its DIY retail segment, where inflation-weary consumers have cut back on total transaction volume. While average ticket values rose and the commercial professional (DIFM) business remained solid, the loss of inflation-driven price tailwinds, combined with higher store-level operating costs, such as healthcare and fuel, and mild weather patterns reducing demand for seasonal parts, led to a pullback in investor sentiment. Management's cautious forward guidance and broader margin pressures across the auto parts retail sector have further weighed on the stock despite ongoing store network expansion and market share gains.

On Jul. 29, ORLY shares closed down marginally after reporting its Q2 results. Its EPS of $0.86 exceeded Wall Street expectations of $0.85. The company's revenue was $4.89 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts of $4.85 billion. ORLY expects full-year EPS to be $3.20 to $3.30, and revenue in the range of $18.9 billion to $19.2 billion.

For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect ORLY's EPS to grow 10.1% to $3.27 on a diluted basis. The company's earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing the forecast on another occasion.

Among the 28 analysts covering ORLY stock, the consensus is a "Strong Buy." That's based on 20 "Strong Buy" ratings, three "Moderate Buys," and five "Holds."

The configuration has been consistent over the past three months.

On Aug. 3, Citigroup Inc. (C) analyst Steven Zaccone maintained a "Buy" rating on ORLY and set a price target of $106, implying a potential upside of 18.4% from current levels.

The mean price target of $108.61 represents a 21.3% premium to ORLY's current price levels. The Street-high price target of $120 suggests a notable upside potential of 34%.

On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com