• Academy Sports + Outdoors recently opened three new stores in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and in North Knoxville and Morristown, Tennessee, extending its presence in those states and adding nearly 200 jobs.
• These openings, accompanied by community donations and loyalty-focused initiatives like the myAcademy Rewards Mastercard, highlight how physical expansion and customer engagement remain central to Academy’s long-term growth focus.
• We’ll now examine how this latest wave of store openings, particularly the move into additional Pennsylvania and Tennessee markets, shapes Academy’s investment narrative.

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Academy Sports and Outdoors Investment Narrative Recap

To own Academy Sports + Outdoors, you need to believe its mix of new-store growth, value pricing, and loyalty programs can offset margin pressures from promotions, labor, and tariffs. The latest store openings in Pennsylvania and Tennessee fit the near term expansion catalyst but do not materially change the central risk that heavier promotions and cost inflation could keep earnings growth restrained.

Among recent announcements, Academy’s reaffirmed plan to open 20 to 25 new stores in 2026 is most relevant. The Altoona, North Knoxville, and Morristown locations show that this pipeline is moving ahead as planned, which could matter for investors who see store growth and operating leverage as key supports for revenue and earnings, especially with consensus still modeling only mid single digit annual sales growth.

But while new stores can be exciting, investors also need to be aware of how a more intense promotional environment could...

Academy Sports and Outdoors’ narrative projects $7.0 billion revenue and $481.1 million earnings by 2029. This requires 5.1% yearly revenue growth and about a $104 million earnings increase from $376.8 million today.

Uncover how Academy Sports and Outdoors' forecasts yield a $61.42 fair value, a 16% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Some of the lowest estimate analysts were expecting only about 3.8 percent annual revenue growth and US$451.1 million of earnings by 2029, and they worry that Academy’s heavy store focus may lag faster e commerce rivals even as new openings like Altoona test that view in real time.

Explore 3 other fair value estimates on Academy Sports and Outdoors - why the stock might be worth as much as 80% more than the current price!

Decide For Yourself

Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own.

• A great starting point for your Academy Sports and Outdoors research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Academy Sports and Outdoors research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Academy Sports and Outdoors' overall financial health at a glance.

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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.