AAP.US
id: 845
Advanced Auto Parts (AAP) Pricing Strategy Failure Case
E.D. North Carolina
Court5:23-cv-00563
Case number16 Nov 2022
Class period Start30 May 2023
Class period End- In May 2023, Advanced Auto Parts reported disappointing financial results and revised downward its 2023 guidance.
- $AAP fell 35% and lost $2.3B of market cap, injuring shareholders.
- Investor suspect AAP and its Executives of misguiding investors about the failure of a new pricing strategy.
On May 31, 2023, Advanced Auto Parts (AAP) held its quarterly earnings call for their Q1 2023 financial results. During that call, its CEO, Thomas R. Greco, conceded, "our financial results in the first quarter were well below expectations."
- Because the Company slashed prices on products, Greco stated "we had less price realization than plans, which put substantially higher pressure on our product margin price."
- Advance Auto Parts' CFO Jeffrey W. Shepherd, revealed during the May call that the Company's strategic pricing program resulted in the Company being "unable to price to cover product costs in the quarter."
- The Company consequently revised downward its 2023 guidance to an operating margin of 5% to 5.3% from the previously announced 7.8% to 9.2% margin.
On this news, $AAP fell 35% and lost over $2.3 billion of its market capitalization, thereby injuring investors.
Taking all representations into account, Investors have reasons to suspect AAP and its Executives of misguiding investors about the failure of a new pricing strategy and purposefully inflating the impact of price reductions, leading to a steep, one-day stock drop after the truth was revealed.
Case Status
Motion to dismiss
Alleged Offence
Misleading Statements,
Financial Misrepresentation,
Failure to Disclose,
Omissions
Suspected Party
Directors,
Management
Security Type
Stocks
Trade Direction
Long
Filing date
09 October 2023
Plaintiffs
Miguel Suarez
Attorneys
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP (New York, NY), Roberts and Harris, P.C. (Wake Forest, NC)
Defendants
Thomas R. Greco, Jeffrey W. Shepherd
Judge
Hon. James C. Dever, III
Trades matching type
FIFO