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Sonic (SAH) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, EchoPark Sales Surge

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Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH - Free Report) registered second-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of 64 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents. Higher-than-expected sales from the used vehicle unit led to outperformance. Precisely, used vehicle sales came in at around $809 million, surpassing the consensus mark of $542 million. Moreover, the bottom line was higher than 62 cents per share reported in the year-ago quarter on the back of solid performance from the EchoPark segment.

However, total revenues for the reported quarter amounted to $2,111.9 million, down 19.2% from the prior-year period. Further, revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,227 million.

Sonic Automotive, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Sonic Automotive, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

Key Takeaways

For the reported quarter, revenues from the sale of new vehicles fell 25.3% year over year to $900 million. Gross profit decreased to $45.4 million from $56.4 million recorded in the year-ago period.

Revenues from the sale of used vehicles declined 8.7% from the prior-year quarter to $808.8 million. Unit sales contracted from 28,871 a year ago to 23,973 in the quarter under review. Gross profit decreased 18.8% year over year to $30.4 million.

For the quarter under review, the EchoPark segment recorded revenues of $315.3 million, reflecting an 8.1% uptick from the year-ago figure. Its stores sold 14,661 units, up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. The segment registered an income of $2.57 million, up 52.2% from the year ago-quarter.

Wholesale vehicle revenues decreased 34.8% on a year-over-year basis to $28.5 million. Nonetheless, gross loss narrowed from $670,000 in the year-ago quarter to $357,000.

Revenues from parts, services and collision repair fell 27.4% year over year to $252 million. Gross profit decreased to $124.5 million for the quarter under review from $170.7 million in the year-ago period.

Finance, insurance and other revenues slid 10.2% on a year-over-year basis to $80.4 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased to $230.4 million from $294.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

The board of directors announced a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share, which will be paid on Oct 15, 2020 to shareholders of record on Sep 15, 2020. As of Apr 28, Sonic — whose peers include Lithia Motors (LAD - Free Report) , AutoNation (AN - Free Report) and Group 1 Automotive (GPI - Free Report) — had $115.7 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand. Sonic currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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