AZO vs. BURL: AutoZone vs. Burlington Stores Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL) both belong to the Specialty Retail industry, though AZO is classified under Automotive Retail while BURL falls under Apparel Retail.

Company profile comparison for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Profile Item	AZO	BURL
Name	AutoZone, Inc.	Burlington Stores Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Specialty Retail	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Automotive Retail	Apparel Retail
Market Capitalization	51.77 billion USD	15.50 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 2, 1991	October 2, 2013
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AZO

BURL

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Total Return (1Y)	-12.81%	-9.83%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	6.56%	24.64%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.68%	-3.29%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AZO

BURL

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Burlington Stores (BURL) has an aggressive beta of 1.48, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while AutoZone (AZO) is defensive at 0.37 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.55%	41.03%
Beta (5Y)	0.37	1.48
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-35.88%	-63.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	268.95K	1.46M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AZO and BURL are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.56	-0.34
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.74	-0.48

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Burlington Stores (BURL) earns 41.41% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no ROE this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 62.17%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%
AZO: --

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

41.41%

Max: 62.17%
BURL: 41.41%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): AZO does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; BURL is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 12.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 5.85%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

12.65%

Max: 16.94%
AZO: 12.65%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

5.85%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
BURL: 5.85%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 18.03% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 6.72%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

18.03%

Max: 21.45%
AZO: 18.03%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

6.72%

Max: 21.45%
Q3: 10.89%
BURL: 6.72%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
ROE (TTM)	--	41.41%
ROA (TTM)	10.97%	6.15%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.65%	5.85%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.03%	6.72%
Gross Margin (TTM)	51.71%	44.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both AutoZone (AZO) at 7.39% and Burlington Stores (BURL) at 8.76% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Burlington Stores (BURL) reports EPS growth of 21.92%, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no EPS growth figure this period.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.39%	8.76%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.22%	9.95%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	21.92%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	39.67%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.17 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while AutoZone (AZO) at 0.90 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AZO.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.90

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
AZO: 0.90
Min: 0.48

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.17

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
BURL: 1.17
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Burlington Stores (BURL) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95 against its industry range, while AutoZone (AZO) reports no figure this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01
AZO: --

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.95

Max: 3.93
BURL: 2.95
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): AZO does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; BURL is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.90	1.17
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	2.95
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.00	3.82

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither AutoZone (AZO) nor Burlington Stores (BURL) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
BURL: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither AutoZone (AZO) nor Burlington Stores (BURL) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
BURL: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both AutoZone (AZO) at 21.08 and Burlington Stores (BURL) at 22.17 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

21.08

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
AZO: 21.08
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

22.17

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
BURL: 22.17
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.27 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while AutoZone (AZO) at 2.55 sits in the pricier quartile — AZO costs more per dollar of sales.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.55

Max: 4.32
AZO: 2.55
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.27

Max: 4.32
Q3: 1.99
BURL: 1.27
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

AutoZone (AZO) reports a negative P/B ratio of -20.79, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Burlington Stores (BURL) reports 7.74, ranking against industry peers normally.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

-20.79

Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45
AZO: -20.79

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

7.74

Max: 10.96
BURL: 7.74
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Burlington Stores (BURL): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Burlington Stores (BURL)
Metric	AZO	BURL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	21.08	22.17
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.55	1.27
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.79	7.74
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.31%	0.69%