Jan. 7 at 8:56 PM
Academy Sports & Outdoors shares have struggled to regain momentum after peaking above
$75 in 2024, remaining roughly flat over the past year while the S&P 500 gained about 17%. Despite solid performance during the pandemic and continued expansion through new stores, brands, and a customer-data platform, the stock has been stuck below
$60 for about a year.
The sporting goods category has faced headwinds as consumers delay replacing big-ticket items and inflation weighs on discretionary spending. Although Academy has held up better than some peers and trades at a relatively low valuation of around 9 times forward earnings, that discount has not been enough to attract investors. Analysts see only modest upside of about 5%, suggesting the company may need clearer and more consistent earnings growth before a sustained recovery can take hold.
$ASO