Academy Sports vs. Tractor Supply: A Comparison of Two Embattled Retail Stocks

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:TSCO) and Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) haven’t delivered meaningful revenue growth. But that’s largely due to macroeconomic factors out of these companies’ control. Both stocks trade at cheap valuations relative to their earnings. Whichever company can scale and grow revenue faster in the coming years may be the one that outperforms. Here’s a comparison of where these businesses stand today and how they are looking to expand.

Academy Sports and Outdoors: Maintaining Consistent Revenue

Academy Sports and Outdoors primarily generates revenue by selling a diverse inventory of sporting goods, outdoor recreation equipment, and athletic apparel directly to consumers through its widespread retail stores and digital platform. While it recently expanded its omnichannel capabilities by adding new same-day delivery partners and opening additional stores in satellite markets, it reported approximately 33% gross margin for the quarter ended May 2, 2026.

Tractor Supply: Navigating Revenue Peaks and Troughs

Tractor Supply earns most of its revenue by providing rural lifestyle products, including equine and livestock supplies, hardware, and seasonal goods, to recreational farmers and ranchers across the United States. It completed the acquisition of a veterinary services business, launched a storewide expansion of its hardware categories, and reported a net income margin of about 5% for the quarter ended March 28, 2026.

Why Revenue Matters for Retail Investors

Revenue is the most fundamental measure of a company’s performance. Changes over time indicate a company’s ability to reach new customers, fend off competitors, and deliver long-term returns to shareholders. It’s particularly meaningful in comparing growth in this metric between two companies in the same sector.

Quarterly Revenue for Academy Sports and Outdoors and Tractor Supply

Data source: Company filings.

Foolish Take

Macroeconomic headwinds, including soft consumer spending and tariffs, have stalled growth for many retail companies. This largely explains the revenue performance of Academy and Tractor Supply over the past two years.

However, Tractor Supply’s focus on essential consumer goods for its rural customer base has proven a bit more resilient. This is evident in relative revenue performance, with Tractor Supply posting slightly higher revenue in the last quarter compared to two years ago. At the same time, Academy Sports reported slightly lower total revenue in the most recent quarter than in the same quarter two years ago.

Weakness in consumer spending will be a lingering obstacle for both companies, but Tractor Supply offered stronger full-year guidance. It expects comparable store sales to increase between 1% to 3%. Meanwhile, Academy Sports and Outdoor is not far behind but expects comp sales to be flat to up 2% this year.

Tractor Supply has a more resilient business model built on selling essentials to rural customers. This is why the stock still commands a higher price-to-earnings valuation multiple of about 14x, compared to Academy Sports’ 7x forward earnings multiple.

Academy could offer more upside if it can find a consistent growth formula and scale to Tractor Supply’s size. Academy is seeing strong growth in its e-commerce business and continues to invest in its loyalty/credit card business, which could lead to higher repeat purchases over time.

John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tractor Supply. The Motley Fool recommends Academy Sports And Outdoors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.