AutoNation Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Increase Y/Y

AutoNation, Inc. AN reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $4.68 per share, which increased 4% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.35, primarily on the back of better-than-expected revenues and profits from retail new and used vehicles. In the quarter under review, revenues amounted to $6.69 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.57 billion and rose from $6.48 billion reported in the first quarter of 2024.

AutoNation, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

AutoNation, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | AutoNation, Inc. Quote

Key Takeaways

In the reported quarter, new vehicle revenues were up 9% year over year to $3.24 billion and topped our estimate of $2.83 billion due to higher-than-expected sales volume and average selling price (ASP). New vehicle retail units sold totaled 62,387 units (up 6% year over year), beating our projection of 59,614 units. The ASP per new vehicle unit retailed was $52,064 (up 2.9% year over year), beating our estimate of $47,541. Gross profit from the segment came in at $175 million, which declined 10.7% year over year but beat our estimate of $112.5 million.

Retail used-vehicle revenues contracted 2.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure to $1.79 billion but surpassed our projection of $1.77 billion due to higher-than-expected ASP. Used vehicle retail units sold totaled 68,000 units (down 1.6% year over year), missing our projection of 69,429 units. ASP per used vehicle unit retailed came in at $26,354 (down 0.7% year over year) and topped our projection of $25,562. Gross profit from the segment came in at $113 million, which rose 11% and beat our projection of $86.3 million.

Revenues from wholesale used vehicles were down 19.7% to $130.3 million and missed our estimate of $165.7 million. Gross profit rose to $11.5 million from $9.7 million and topped our estimate of $6.2 million. 

Net revenues in the finance and insurance business amounted to $352.5 million, which increased 5.3% from the year-ago quarter and beat our projection of $332.2 million. Gross profit was $352.5 million, which increased 5.3% and beat our estimate of $332.5 million.

Revenues from the parts and service business contracted 0.7% to $1.16 billion and missed our estimate of $1.3 billion. Gross profit from this segment came in at $567.7 million, which rose 2.1% year over year but missed our estimate of $618 million.

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Segmental Details

Revenues from the Domestic segment declined 2.2% year over year to $1.71 billion but topped our projection of $1.7 billion. The segment’s income plunged 8.2% to $69 million but topped our estimate of $60 million.

Revenues from the Import segment increased 3.4% from the prior-year quarter to $2 billion and topped our forecast of $1.95 billion. The segment’s income contracted 2% to $126 million but surpassed our model estimate of $113 million.  

Premium Luxury segment sales rose 6.7% to $2.57 billion, surpassing our projection of $2.44 billion. The segmental income rose 4.1% year over year to $178.7 million in the reported quarter and topped our estimate of $160 million.

Financial Tidbits

As of March 31, 2025, the company’s liquidity was $1.6 billion, including $71 million in cash and nearly $1. billion available under its revolving credit facility. The firm’s inventory was valued at $3.23 billion. At the end of the first quarter, non-vehicle debt was $3.96 billion. Capital expenditure in the quarter was $75.2 million.

During the first quarter of 2025, AutoNation repurchased 1.4 million shares for $225 million. Since the beginning of the year through April 23, 2025, the company bought back 1.5 million shares for $254 million. Currently, AN has $607 million remaining under its share repurchase program.

AN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Peer Releases

Lithia Motors LAD reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $7.66, which improved from the prior-year quarter’s $6.11 but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.77. Lithia Motors clocked revenues of $9.18 billion, which increased 7.3% year over year but lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.33 billion. Lithia Motors had cash/cash equivalents/restricted cash of $430.3 million as of March 31, 2025, up from $402.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt was $5.9 billion as of March 31, 2025, down from $6.1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Sonic Automotive SAH posted first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.48, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 and improved 8.82% from the year-ago quarter. Sonic Automotive reported revenues of $3.65 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.54 billion and rose from the year-ago quarter’s $3.38 billion. Sonic Automotive had cash & cash equivalents of $64.6 million as of March 31, 2025, up from $44 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt was $1.49 billion as of March 31, 2025, down from $1.51 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

O’Reilly Automotive ORLY reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $9.35, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.83. The bottom line, however, increased from $9.20 reported in the prior-year quarter. O’Reilly Automotive registered quarterly revenues of $4.14 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.17 billion. The top line, however, increased 4% year over year. As of March 31, 2025, O’Reilly Automotive had cash and cash equivalents of $191.2 million, an increase from $89.3 million recorded as of March 31, 2024. Its long-term debt was $5.65 billion, up from $5.29 billion as of March 31, 2024.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

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

Zacks Investment Research