AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates In Q4 CY2025 Earnings

Automotive retail giant AutoNation (NYSE:AN) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales falling 3.9% year on year to $6.93 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $5.08 per share was 4.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy AutoNation? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.

“We are pleased to report another quarter of strong performance with record gross profit in After-Sales and unit profitability in Customer Financial Services. For the full year we grew unit volume for both new and used vehicles, increased revenues across all our business lines and grew gross profit for After-Sales, Customer Financial Services and Used vehicles,” said Mike Manley, Chief Executive Officer of AutoNation.

Company Overview

With a vast network of over 300 locations strategically concentrated in America's Sunbelt region, AutoNation (NYSE:AN) operates one of America's largest networks of automotive dealerships, selling new and used vehicles, parts, and services across multiple brands.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years.

With $27.63 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, AutoNation is one of the larger companies in the consumer retail industry and benefits from a well-known brand that influences purchasing decisions. However, its scale is a double-edged sword because there is only so much real estate to build new stores, placing a ceiling on its growth. For AutoNation to boost its sales, it likely needs to adjust its prices or lean into foreign markets.

As you can see below, AutoNation struggled to increase demand as its $27.63 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue three years ago. This shows demand was soft, a rough starting point for our analysis.

This quarter, AutoNation missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 3.9% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $6.93 billion of revenue.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 2.6% over the next 12 months. Although this projection indicates its newer products will catalyze better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector.

While Wall Street chases Nvidia at all-time highs, an under-the-radar semiconductor supplier is dominating a critical AI component these giants can’t build without. Click here to access our free report one of our favorites growth stories.

Same-Store Sales

Same-store sales is an industry measure of whether revenue is growing at existing stores, and it is driven by customer visits (often called traffic) and the average spending per customer (ticket).

AutoNation’s demand has been shrinking over the last two years as its same-store sales have averaged 1.6% annual declines.

In the latest quarter, AutoNation’s same-store sales fell by 5% year on year. This decrease represents a further deceleration from its historical levels. We hope the business can get back on track.

Key Takeaways from AutoNation’s Q4 Results

We enjoyed seeing AutoNation beat analysts’ gross margin expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EBITDA missed and its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded up 1.1% to $206.18 immediately after reporting.

Big picture, is AutoNation a buy here and now? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).