EquityResearch20March2019COREBarclaysCapitalInc.and/oroneofitsaffiliatesdoesandseekstodobusinesswithcompaniescoveredinitsresearchreports.Asaresult,investorsshouldbeawarethatthefirmmayhaveaconflictofinterestthatcouldaffecttheobjectivityofthisreport.Investorsshouldconsiderthisreportasonlyasinglefactorinmakingtheirinvestmentdecision.PLEASESEEANALYSTCERTIFICATION(S)ANDIMPORTANTDISCLOSURESBEGINNINGONPAGE22.Restricted-InternalReadingBetweenthe‘Hard’LinesFebruary:AutoPartRetailersLatestmacroeconomicdatapoints:RetailsalesbyU.S.CensusNAICScodeforautomotiveparts,accessories&tirestoresincreased1.8%to$7.63billiononanadjustedbasisandincreased2.5%to$7.10billiononanunadjustedbasis.InFebruary,vehicleretailsalesdecreased(2.6)%Y/Yto16.6billioncomparedtoa(0.8)%Y/YdeclineinJanuary.Pricesofregular,mid,andpremiumgasremainrelativelyflatfromMarch2018,whilepricesofdieselfuelincreased2.8%Y/Y.Newsworthyhighlights:ACoxAutomotivesurvey(3/12/2019)showsthatasizablenumberofhouseholdsgettingataxrefundplantouseittobuyorfinanceavehicle.GenuinePartsCompanyannouncedanautomotiveacquisitioninEurope(3/5/2019).GPC’sAllianceAutomotiveGroup,thecompany’swholly-ownedautomotivedistributioncompanybasedinLondon,UK,enteredintoadefinitiveagreementtoacquireDutchbasedPartsPointGroup,aleadingdistributorofautomotiveaftermarketpartsandaccessoriesintheBeneluxmarketplace.BarclaysAutos&AutoPartsequityresearchandfundamentalcreditresearchteamstakeadeepdiveintothreeautopartnamesfromacross-assetperspective(USAutos&AutoParts:SortingThroughtheTurnaroundTrio–3/15/2019).Weatherupdates:InFebruary2019,everyregionexperiencedcolderweathercomparedtoFebruary2018.Specifically,theEastandWestNorthCentralregionswere21%and36%colderthanlastyearrespectively.PrecipitationwasmixedamongstregionswiththegreatestdegreeofhigherprecipitationintheWest.AAPnotedattheendofFebruaryitfeelsgreatwhereitisyeartodate,althoughwinterhasbeenvolatile.AZOalsorecentlynotedthelastfewseasonshaveactedinlinewithseasonaltrends,asthewinterhasbeencoldbutnotextreme.A...
