Investors Like the More-Nimble Tractor Supply
More dynamic merchandising, a faster supply chain, and better customer read-through from opportunities with its loyalty program have driven solid sales and recent share price gains.
Although our outlook for narrow-moat
Our long-term outlook for the company is intact. Over the next five years, we expect average top-line growth of 7%, bolstered by the expansion of the brick-and-mortar footprint along with same-store sales of 3%. We don’t anticipate much in the way of operating margin expansion--to 10.2% by 2021, in line with the three-year historical average of 10.3%--as scale gains are offset by ongoing investments in the business, including the expansion and improvement of the distribution network. This ultimately leads to earnings per share growth that averages above 12% in our forecast.
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