AutoZone Stock Is Up 3,500% Over the Past 20 Years — But It Owes $8 Billion More Than It Owns. Should the Company Still Exist?

At first glance, AutoZone (AZO) looks like one of the greatest stock market success stories of all time. Over the last two decades, the autoparts retailer has been quietly compounding its value while flashy AI startups have hogged the headlines, delivering more than 3,500% in returns.

That’s not a typo, and it’s the sort of number that investors dream about. AutoZone’s management has got financial engineering down to an exact science. The company’s capital allocation strategy is one of the most aggressive and consistent on Wall Street, authorizing roughly $39 billion in buybacks since launching its repurchase program in 1998.