Is O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC a Quality Business?
Analyzing business fundamentals using proven investment principles
Decent metrics but limited evidence of durable competitive advantage
About O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC
O'Reilly Automotive Inc., doing business as O'Reilly Auto Parts, is an American automotive aftermarket parts retailer that provides automotive parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers. Founded in 1957 by the O'Reilly family and headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, the company operates more than 6,400 stores across 48 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada, making it one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts in the United States. O'Reilly serves both the do-it-yourself market (approximately 50% of sales) and professional service providers (approximately 47% of sales), offering products under brands including BesTest, BrakeBest, Cartek, Import Direct, MasterPro, MicroGard, Murray, Omnispark, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Precision, PowerTorque, SuperStart, Syntec, and Ultima. The company trades on NASDAQ under ticker symbol ORLY and provides a comprehensive selection of aftermarket parts for cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
📚 How We Measure Business Quality
The Zyberno Score answers one question: "Is this a quality business worth owning?"
We analyze 16 fundamental metrics across four key dimensions, using principles from
Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch,
and Charlie Munger. Each category is worth 25 points for a total of 100.
This score measures business quality only — not whether the stock is cheap, what return you'll get, or when to buy. For that, see the Valuation Trilogy below.
🎯 Recent Earnings Momentum
A separate, shorter-horizon signal — not part of the long-term quality score above. Standardized Unexpected Earnings (SUE) measures how far ORLY's latest quarter beat or missed its own seasonal earnings trend.
View ORLY's full earnings-surprise history and what this signal means →
💡 Quality Is Only Half the Picture
A high quality score means ORLY shows strong business fundamentals.
But even the best business can be a poor investment at the wrong price.
As Warren Buffett says: "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."
To complete your analysis, examine our Valuation Trilogy:
In the Brina Matrix, O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC (ORLY) registers Expensive Hype — Margin of Safety -100.00% and Brina Gap -1.2% are both unfavorable. The stock is priced above its historical earnings power and the market already assumes faster growth than the fundamentals support.
📈 Price Action Check
Market trend context — not part of the Zyberno Score
The price trend is unremarkable in either direction — momentum neither confirms nor contradicts the quality and valuation signals above. Full momentum analysis →
Conclusion: Is ORLY a Good Stock?
According to Zyberno's analysis, O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC (ORLY) is an Average Business, earning a Zyberno Score of 53/100.
What drives ORLY's score
Zyberno's analysis of ORLY's fundamentals identifies the following key drivers. ROIC of 46.9% comfortably exceeds the cost of capital for most businesses, signaling that O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC creates significant value on every dollar of capital deployed. A net margin of 14.3% reflects solid profitability and pricing power. An interest coverage ratio of 13.7x means O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC earns 14 times more operating income than it needs to service its debt — a strong indicator of financial safety. A free cash flow margin of 10.3% reflects strong cash conversion. Revenue growth of approximately 6.8% annually is steady, though not exceptional. A Piotroski F-Score of 5/9 is mixed, with some positive and some negative financial health signals.
According to Zyberno's valuation model, at its current price of $87.83, ORLY appears to be significantly overvalued compared to an estimated intrinsic value per share of $29.14, with a negative margin of safety of -100.0%. Value investors would typically wait for a better entry price. Based on current pricing and fundamentals, Zyberno's model estimates a 5-year annual return of -23.6%.
The Brina Gap measures the difference between the growth a business can fundamentally sustain and the growth the market is already pricing in. O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC's Brina Gap is -1.2% — the enterprise value implies a growth expectation that is broadly in line with what the business can actually deliver. Forward economics appear fairly priced.
Zyberno's score and valuation reflect the direct output of the model — business quality from fundamentals, margin of safety from owner earnings, Brina Gap from the reverse DCF. The numbers are not adjusted toward the current price, analyst ratings, or market sentiment. The score measures the quality of the business. The valuation measures the price you pay for it.
Zyberno Verdict
According to Zyberno's model, O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC (ORLY) is not a buy — an Average Business (53/100) with a negative Margin of Safety of -100.0% and a Brina Gap of -1.2% showing the stock is expensive on both valuation and forward growth expectations.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What does ORLY's Zyberno Score of 53/100 mean?
According to Zyberno's scoring model, a score of 53/100 places O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC in the Average Business category — decent metrics but limited evidence of durable competitive advantage. Zyberno's model scores 75–100 as excellent, 65–74 as good, 50–64 as average, 30–49 as below average, and below 30 as poor, based on the investment frameworks of Buffett, Graham, Lynch, and Munger. Note that a high quality score measures business fundamentals, not whether the stock is currently priced attractively — for that, see the margin of safety analysis.
What makes a stock "high quality"?
A high-quality stock typically exhibits: strong returns on equity and invested capital (indicating competitive advantages), healthy profit margins, low debt levels, ample liquidity, consistent cash flow generation, and sustainable growth. We analyze 16 key metrics across four categories - Profitability (ROE, ROIC, margins), Financial Strength (debt, liquidity, coverage), Cash Flow Quality (FCF, OCF vs earnings), and Growth & Consistency (revenue/profit trends, Piotroski score) - drawing from the investment philosophies of Buffett, Graham, Lynch, and Munger.
How is the quality score different from a stock rating?
Our quality score measures business fundamentals - how well the company operates, generates profits, and maintains financial health. Unlike analyst "buy/sell" ratings, we don't tell you whether to purchase the stock. A company can have excellent quality (great business) but poor investment potential (if overpriced), or vice versa. For valuation analysis, see our Margin of Safety page.
Why do you use Owner Earnings instead of regular earnings?
Owner Earnings, a concept popularized by Warren Buffett, represents the true cash available to shareholders after maintaining the business. Unlike accounting earnings, which can be manipulated through depreciation schedules and accruals, Owner Earnings = Operating Cash Flow minus Maintenance Capital Expenditures. This gives a clearer picture of what a business actually generates for its owners. Learn more about ORLY's Owner Earnings.
How often is the quality score updated?
Quality scores are recalculated whenever new financial data becomes available, typically after quarterly earnings reports. The underlying metrics (ROE, ROIC, debt ratios, etc.) come from company filings and are updated as soon as they're reported. For the most comprehensive and up-to-date data, visit the full ORLY stock report.
📊 Full ORLY Stock Report
Complete financial data, charts, all 250+ metrics, and detailed analysis for O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC.
🎯 ORLY Earnings Surprise (SUE)
See whether O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC is beating or missing its own earnings trend — Standardized Unexpected Earnings and post-earnings drift.
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