Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) Faces Headwinds as Truist Cuts Price Target and DIY Sales Decline

• Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli lowered the price target for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) to $43.00 from $62.00 while maintaining a Hold rating following the company’s second-quarter 2026 results.
• Reported adjusted earnings per share totaled $1.03, exceeding the cited $0.81 consensus estimate. However, net sales declined 0.5% to $2.00 billion and missed estimates, while a tariff refund contributed approximately $0.31 to adjusted EPS.
• A primary concern was the 0.5% decline in comparable-store sales, driven by a larger-than-expected contraction in the do-it-yourself segment as tighter household budgets constrained spending, offsetting growth among professional customers.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) is a major North American retailer of automotive aftermarket parts serving professional installers and do-it-yourself customers. The company competes with retailers such as AutoZone and O’Reilly Automotive. On August 20, 2026, Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli lowered the price target for Advance Auto Parts to $43.00 from $62.00 while maintaining a Hold rating.

The price-target reduction followed Advance Auto Parts’ second-quarter 2026 results. The market reacted negatively, with the stock falling approximately 21% to $44.33 during Thursday morning trading. At the time of the cited report, AutoZone and O’Reilly Automotive shares were down approximately 4% and 2%, respectively, as investors considered whether Advance’s weak DIY demand signaled broader pressure across the automotive-parts industry.

Advance Auto Parts’ quarterly report presented a mixed financial picture. Net sales declined 0.5% year over year to $2.00 billion, below the cited $2.04 billion estimate. Reported adjusted diluted EPS of $1.03 exceeded the $0.81 consensus estimate, while GAAP diluted EPS was $0.90. However, the quality of the adjusted EPS beat was weakened by the tariff-related benefit.

Specifically, the adjusted EPS result benefited by approximately $0.31 per share from $26 million in tariff refunds. Excluding that benefit, adjusted EPS would have been approximately $0.72, below the cited consensus estimate. Comparable-store sales declined 0.5%, reversing the 3.5% growth reported in the first quarter. 

The sales weakness was primarily caused by a low-double-digit decline in the do-it-yourself segment, particularly during the final four weeks of the quarter. Management attributed the weakness to tighter household budgets constraining consumer spending more than anticipated. This decline offset low-single-digit growth in sales to professional customers.