Group 1 Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Group 1 Automotive GPI reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $10.45, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.64 but rose 5.6% year over year. The automotive retailer registered net sales of $5.8 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.63 billion. The top line also rose from the year-ago quarter’s $5.2 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 Q3 Highlights

New vehicle retail sales increased 9.3% from the prior-year quarter to $2.81 billion and topped our projection of $2.78 billion. Total retail new vehicles sold were 57,269 units, which increased 6.5% year over year but missed our forecast of 58,275 units. The average selling price per unit was $50,816, up 5% year over year. The gross profit from the new vehicle retail unit totaled $186.1 million, up 1.6% year over year.

Used-vehicle retail sales rose 11.8% from the year-ago period to $1.85 billion and surpassed our forecast of $1.80 billion. Total retail used vehicles sold were 59,574 units, up 6.6% year over year, lagging our expectation of 61,011 units. The average selling price per unit was $31,112, up 5% year over year. The gross profit from the unit was $85.4 million, down 3% year over year.

Used-vehicle wholesale sales rose 20.5% year over year to $148.4 million and beat our expectation of $128.4 million. The unit incurred a gross loss of $0.2 million against a gross profit of $0.4 million in the year-ago period. In the Parts and Service business, the top line rose 11.2% to $733.9 million and gross profit increased 11.1% to $407.6 million year over year. Revenues from the Finance and Insurance business were $240.9 million, up 12.5% 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 $4.28 billion and topped our forecast of $4.10 billion. The segment’s gross profit rose 5.4% to $715 million and beat of our prediction of $696.2 million. During the reported quarter, retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 41,582, 39,636 and 9,984, respectively.

In the third quarter, revenues jumped 20.4% year over year to $1.50 billion for the U.K. business segment, missing our estimate of $1.51 billion. Gross profit was $204.7 million, which surged 17.3% from the year-ago quarter and beat our projection of $199.9 million. During the reported quarter, the retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 15,687, 19,938 and 6,034, respectively.

GPI’s Financial Position

Selling, general and administrative expenses were up 10.7% year over year to $654.9 million. Group 1 had cash and cash equivalents of $30.8 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, down from $34.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Total debt was $3.47 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025, up from $2.91 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

During the quarter under discussion, GPI repurchased 185,788 shares at an average price of $443.18 per common share for a total of $82.5 million. The company currently has $226.3 million remaining on its authorized stock buyback program.

Group 1’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. CPS, OPENLANE, Inc. KAR and Garrett Motion Inc. GTX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPS’ 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 2.5% and 137.8%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 36 cents and 23 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KAR’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.6% and 37.7%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 have improved 13 cents in the past 90 days. EPS estimates for fiscal 2026 have improved 13 cents in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GTX’s 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 2.4% and 14.3%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 8 cents and 17 cents, respectively, in the past seven days. 

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