Detailed narrative
Q1 sales inflection and comp composition
Academy returned to positive comps with net sales of $1.44B, up 6.7% total and up 2.9% on a comparable basis — both at the high side of the range pre-announced on April 7, 2026. The comp was built on low-single-digit positive traffic plus a high-single-digit AUR increase, with units per transaction down slightly as a function of the higher AUR.
Growth was broad-based: all four merchandising divisions comped positive and dot-com grew 17%. Management framed the print as consistent with Analyst Day expectations but toward the high end.
Category and division performance
Outdoor was the best division at +12%, led by fishing and Shooting Sports; ammo sales rose 12% and firearms share expanded for an eighth straight quarter (using NICS/mix-checks as a proxy). Sports & Recreation rose 6% on baseball/team sports and a double-digit front-end gain driven by collectible trading cards.
Apparel gained 5% on outdoor/work strength (Carhartt, Levi's, Magellan) plus Nike/Jordan and double-digit private-brand (Freely) growth. Footwear rose 3% on cleated/baseball, Crocs and Birkenstock, with building momentum in performance running.
Consumer bifurcation and macro pressure
The consumer environment remains bifurcated: higher-income households (>$100k) — Academy's largest and fastest-growing cohort — grew trips mid-single-digits as they trade in for value, while lower-income (<$50k) trips fell only low-single-digits, 'less bad' than prior quarters, aided by tax refunds that were largely offset by high gas prices.
Management expects $4+ gas and inflation to persist and weigh on discretionary spend all year, and noted a Q2 slowdown to roughly flat comp through Memorial Day. Consumer confidence is materially higher at the upper-income end.
Gross margin, tariffs and refund monetization
Gross margin was 33.2%, down 71 bps YoY: a 110 bps tariff headwind🌐 (Q1 carried the full IEEPA weighted-average-cost burden versus none a year ago) was partly offset by +20 bps shrink and +10 bps shipping. Q1 is expected to be the largest tariff quarter, moderating thereafter to support back-half margin expansion.
On refunds, Academy sold rights to a portion of prior-year tariffs and monetized ~$10.5M, with ~$1.5M recognized in FY2026 guidance; no refund was booked in Q1, with collections starting in Q2. The unsold portion is also embedded in guidance.
Growth strategy 1 — new-store expansion
New stores remain the #1 growth lever. The company entered the year with 39 stores from the 2022–2024 vintages in the comp base, comping high-single-digits, with 24 stores from the 2025 vintage flowing in through the year. Two stores opened in Q1 (Canton, OH and Ada/Asco, OK), three more in Q2 (Pennsylvania, North Knoxville and Morristown, TN), and 15–20 in the back half, weighted later than desired due to tariff-driven construction-cost uncertainty.
Store count growth is expected around 7% this year versus 8% last year; 2027 openings should be more balanced across halves.
Growth strategy 2 — loyalty and credit-card relaunch
The centerpiece productivity initiative is the relaunched, three-tier myAcademy Rewards program integrated with a new co-branded Mastercard. The base tier needs no card ($15 welcome/birthday offers, $25 award at $500 spend, free shipping over $25); the mid tier private-label card gives 5% off instantly at point of sale; the top Mastercard adds 2% back on all outside spend.
Reissuance of new plastic is targeted for completion by end of June, applications are up double digits since mid-March, and enrollment is up double digits YoY toward the 15M-member goal. Management views this as the single biggest driver of forward comp.
Growth strategy 3 — omnichannel and AI search
Dot-com grew 17% with 100 bps of penetration expansion. In Q2, Academy is adding Uber Eats and Instacart same-day delivery alongside its existing DoorDash partnership — described as mostly accretive given minimal customer-base overlap — and is migrating on-site search to Google's AI commerce search and Gemini Enterprise ahead of back-to-school, anticipating rising use of AI shopping agents.
In-stocks are running 200+ bps above last year on expanded RFID utilization.
Capital allocation, balance sheet and guidance shape
Free cash flow was $121.6M (+14.2%), cash ended at $338M with an untapped $1B revolver, and inventory improved (dollars/store -0.8%, units/store -6.8%). About 50% of operating cash flow is reinvested with the remainder returned to shareholders; Q1 saw ~1.7M shares repurchased (~2.5% of shares out, $338M authorization remaining) and $9.6M of dividends.
A May refinancing at 5.875% and an amended/extended ABL (2031 maturities) generate ~$2.5M annual interest savings for five years. Guidance was raised at the low end because Q1 came in high; initiatives alone are said to reach the ~1% comp midpoint, with the range hinging on the low-income cohort and external-event magnitude.