Academy Sports ready to pop after disastrous year, Barron’s says

Once a highflier, Academy Sports (ASO) & Outdoors has fallen on hard times, Teresa Rivas writes in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Disappointing same-store sales — stemming in part from inflation pressuring consumers — have led investors to question the company’s expanding footprint. Academy, however, is still doing plenty of things right that could boost the stock in 2025. The toughest comparisons are behind it, consensus estimates call for the return of earnings growth in the new fiscal year, and a cheap valuation makes another major tumble less likely, the author argues.