Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) is drawing fresh investor attention after a flurry of store openings across several states, coupled with a new Instacart partnership that adds same day delivery for its broad product range.

Despite the Instacart deal and a busy store rollout in 2026, Academy Sports and Outdoors has seen its share price drift, with a 90 day share price return down 13.08% and a 1 year total shareholder return down 14.45%, hinting at cooling momentum as investors weigh execution risks against growth plans.

If the recent store openings and delivery push have you thinking about what else might be reshaping retail and consumer trends, it could be a good moment to broaden your search and check out 21 top founder-led companies

Academy Sports and Outdoors is opening stores, partnering with Instacart, and yet the share price has slipped over the past year. Is this a chance to step in now, or does it make more sense to wait for a cheaper entry based on valuation?

Most Popular Narrative: 25.7% Undervalued

At a last close of $45.65 versus a narrative fair value of $61.42, Academy Sports and Outdoors is framed as materially undervalued, with that gap tied directly to long term earnings and cash flow expectations under a 9.61% discount rate.

An ongoing store expansion strategy focused on secondary/tertiary markets with growing populations and suburban migration (20-25 new stores in 2025, robust early comps in new stores) sets up above-peer top-line growth and improved operating leverage as these locations mature.

Want to see what underpins that growth vision? The narrative leans on measured revenue gains, firmer margins, and shrinking share count. Curious how those threads combine into $61.42.

Result: Fair Value of $61.42 (UNDERVALUED)

However, the Academy Sports and Outdoors narrative still leans on higher income shoppers and regional concentration, so any pullback in those customers or local disruptions could quickly test it.

Next Steps

With the story around Academy Sports and Outdoors feeling mixed, this could be a useful moment to look through the numbers yourself and move quickly. To see what has investors optimistic right now, take a closer look at the 4 key rewards.

Looking for more investment ideas beyond Academy Sports and Outdoors?

Do not stop with Academy Sports and Outdoors. Use the Simply Wall St Screener to uncover fresh stock ideas that fit your goals before others move first.

• Target potential mispricing by scanning companies that appear attractively valued with the help of 50 high quality undervalued stocks.
• Strengthen your income stream by focusing on companies with higher yields and consistent payments using 12 dividend fortresses.
• Prioritise resilience by filtering for companies that show robust balance sheets and fundamentals through the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (50 results).

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.