- EBIT for the quarter was $378 million, up 1.4% over last year.
- Debt outstanding at the end of the quarter was $1.936 billion or approximately $78 million more than last year.
- For the quarter, the tax rate was 36.2% below last year''s rate of 36.9%.

Interest expense was $38.1 million, compared with $34.9 million a year ago.

The increase in interest expense reflects higher levels of debt as the ongoing effort to term out the company''s debt on a long-term basis as well as the year-over-year increase in short-term rates. Additionally, interest was higher due to the accounting for capitalized leases established in the first quarter of this year. The firm expects interest expense to remain higher than the previous year heading into 2008.

The adjusted debt levels were maintained inline with the target of 2.1 times of trailing 12-month EBITDAR. The firm has purposely managed its structure relative to its cash flow in order to maintain credit ratings at investment grade while optimizing the cost of capital.

- The firm generated $361 million of operating cash flow.
- The firm repurchased $297 million of AutoZone stock as part of its ongoing stock repurchase program.
- For the fourth quarter of this year, the firm reported an industry-leading ROIC of 22.7%.

Accounts payable as a percent of gross inventory finished the quarter at 93% compared to 92% last year.

The company continues to be committed to its goal of achieving 100% AP to inventory and it is pleased with the momentum. Inventory per store on the balance sheet plus the excluded pay on scan inventory was $500,000 versus Q4 of last year of $501,000. This quarter, the firm reported a total of $22 million of inventory on POS, which in accordance with GAAP, is not reflected on the balance sheet.

Total working capital was a negative $15 million versus last year''s balance of $64 million.

The company will continue to focus on minimizing working capital as this reflects its ongoing focus on increasing cash flow. Net fixed assets were up 6.2% versus last year. Capital expenditures for the quarter totaled $67 million and reflected the additional expenditures required to open 69 new stores this quarter, maintenance on existing stores, systems enhancements and work on development of new stores for upcoming quarters.

The company’s new stores are on track to achieve at least a 15% IRR.

AutoZone continues to see ample opportunity to open stores in the U.S. at a mid single-digit growth rate for the foreseeable future. The firm opened 53 new stores in the quarter for a total of 3,933 stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The goal this year was to open stores more evenly throughout our fiscal year. The firm also relocated three stores this past quarter, and continues to see opportunities to expand this initiative in the future. The firm also celebrated the opening of its 4,000th store in Houston, Texas, this past quarter.

Depreciation totaled $51 million for the quarter, higher than last year due primarily to new stores, and the accounting for new capital leases established at the beginning of 2007.

As of August 25, 2007, AutoZone continues to be one of the few players in its industry to have investment-grade debt ratings.

The senior unsecured debt rating from Standard & Poor''s is triple B plus, and it has a commercial paper rating of A-2. Moody''s investor service has assigned a senior unsecured debt credit rating of PAA-2 and a commercial paper rating of P-2.

AutoZone has and will continue to focus its sales efforts on improving the customer''s shopping experience.

During the fourth quarter, the company marketed its Z-net software across both television and radio to educate its customers on what it believes is the absolute best parts lookup system and support tool for DIYers in the entire industry. The feedback was exceptional from both AutoZoners and customers. Enhancing Z-net will continue to be a major focus for the firm in the future.

The company continued its What It Takes To Do the Job Right (WITTDTJR) meetings, with its entire field organization. These meetings focus on educating AutoZoners on how to serve customers better. During the fourth quarter, the Shift to Win program was centered on reviewing with each customer the features and benefits of the firm’s products so that they can select the right product for the job. This effort will continue for fiscal 2008.

Over the last couple of years, the firm decided to leverage its customer relationships and constantly ask them for their feedback on its opportunities for improvement. Surprisingly, the firm learned just 70% of the time its customers were able to find what they needed. While this metric was up considerably based upon several historic studies, it was clear there was, and still is, significant room for improvement.

The company transitioned away from its formal supply chain agreement with Midas Corporation.

This agreement ended early in the quarter, and the firm congratulates its team on transitioning away from that arrangement and effectively filling in the void left by the departure of that business. In addition, the company is working diligently to continue to earn the Hot Shot business from the Midas franchisees.