Group 1 Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Group 1 Automotive GPI reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $11.52, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.31 and rose 17.5% year over year. The automotive retailer registered net sales of $5.7 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.55 billion. The top line also rose from the year-ago quarter’s $4.7 billion.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Group 1 Automotive, Inc. Quote

GPI’s Q2 Highlights

New vehicle retail sales increased 15.7% from the prior-year quarter to $2.74 billion but missed our projection of $2.83 billion on the back of lower-than-expected volumes. Total retail new vehicles sold were 55,763 units, which increased 17% year over year but missed our forecast of 57,290 units. The average selling price per unit was $50,557, up 1.1% year over year. The gross profit from the new vehicle retail unit totaled $198.4 million, up 16.6% year over year.

Used-vehicle retail sales rose 27.2% from the year-ago period to $1.85 billion and surpassed our forecast of $1.72 billion, driven by higher-than-anticipated unit sales. Total retail used vehicles sold were 60,240 units, up 22.3% year over year, exceeding our expectation of 58,438 units. The average selling price per unit was $30,713, up 4.1% year over year. The gross profit from the unit was $96.4 million, up 19.5% year over year.

Used-vehicle wholesale sales rose 57% year over year to $163.8 million and beat our expectation of $115.7 million. The unit earned a gross profit of $0.5 million against a gross loss of $1.1 million in the year-ago period. In the Parts and Service business, the top line rose 25% to $718.4 million and gross profit increased 27.1% to $402.8 million year over year. Revenues from the Finance and Insurance business were $237.8 million, up 18.8% from the year-ago period’s level.

GPI’s Segments in Detail

In the reported quarter, revenues from the U.S. business segment rose 6.5% year over year to $4.18 billion but missed our forecast of $4.22 billion. The segment’s gross profit rose 9.1% to $728.7 million but fell short of our prediction of $732.4 million. During the reported quarter, retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 41,067, 39,665 and 9,661, respectively.

In the second quarter, revenues jumped 96.9% year over year to $1.53 billion for the U.K. business segment, beating our estimate of $1.28 billion. Gross profit was $207.1 million, which surged 109.6% from the year-ago quarter and beat our projection of $138.4 million. During the reported quarter, the retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 14,696, 20,575 and 7,369, respectively.

GPI’s Financial Position

Selling, general and administrative expenses were up 29.9% year over year to $646.1 million. Group 1 had cash and cash equivalents of $52.7 million as of June 30, 2025, up from $34.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Total debt was $3.2 billion as of June 30, 2025, up from $2.91 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

During the quarter under discussion, GPI repurchased 114,918 shares at an average price of $387.39 per common share for a total of $44.5 million. The company currently has $308.8 million remaining on its authorized stock buyback program.

GPI’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Group 1 carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Ferrari N.V. RACE, Gentex Corporation GNTX and XPeng Inc. XPEV. While RACE sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, GNTX & XPEV carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RACE’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 13.6% and 12.1%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved 34 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The consensus estimate for GNTX’s 2025 sales implies year-over-year growth of 2.77%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved five cents and four cents, respectively, in the past seven days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XPEV’s 2025 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 102% and 66.7%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved seven cents in the past 90 days. EPS estimates for 2026 have improved by a penny in the past 60 days.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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