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Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Q3 Earnings & Sales Top Estimates, Up Y/Y

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Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $9.62, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.08. This outperformance stemmed from the higher-than-anticipated gross profit from the company’s New-vehicle retail, Used-vehicle retail, Parts & Service and Finance & Insurance segments. Moreover, the bottom line comes in higher than the prior-year quarter’s $6.97 per share, marking growth of 38%.  

The automotive retailer registered net sales of $3,509.2 million, marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,503 million. Also, the top-line figure comes in 15.4% higher than the year-ago quarter’s $3,039.6 million.

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

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

Q3 Highlights

The new-vehicle retail sales edged down 0.3% from the prior-year quarter to $1,576.2 million. In addition, the figure trailed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,755 million. Also, the gross profit from the unit totaled $167.7 million, soaring 69% year over year. The reported profit figure also surpassed the consensus mark of $161 million.

The used-vehicle retail sales rose 44% from the year-ago period to $1,248.3 million. The sales figure also outpaced the consensus mark of $1,032 million. Further, the gross profit from the unit summed $98.6 million, jumping 38.6% year over year. The reported profit figure also beat the consensus mark of $94 million.

The used-vehicle wholesale sales climbed 26.2% from the corresponding quarter last year to $109.4 million, beating the consensus mark of $102 million. The gross profit from used-vehicle wholesale sales amounted to $7.6 million compared with the $1.7 million reported in the year-ago period. The reported figure, however, missed the consensus mark of $9.7 million.

For the Parts and Service business, the top line rose 13.8% from the year-ago period to $427.6 million. In addition, the revenue figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $402 million. The gross profit for the segment summed $231.7 million, climbing 12.3% year on year and breezing past the consensus mark of $221 million.

Revenues from the Finance and Insurance business improved 14.1% from the prior-year period to $147.7 million, marginally topping the consensus mark of $144 million. The segmental gross profit of $147.7 million grew 14.1% on a yearly basis and also smashed the consensus estimate of $144 million.

Segments in Detail

For the reported quarter, revenues in the U.S. business segment climbed 18.6% year on year to $2,662.4 million. The segment’s gross profit also scaled up 28.7% year over year to $535 million. During the September-end quarter, the retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle, and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 25,984, 31,704 and 6,758, respectively.

In the July-September period, revenues inched up 1.3% year over year to $750.4 million for the U.K. business segment. Also, the gross profit summed $103.7 million, up 18.3% from the third quarter of 2020. During the reported quarter, the retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle, and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 7,381, 10,810 and 4,202, respectively.

Revenues for the Brazil business segment jumped 77.7% year over year to $96.4 million during the third quarter. Further, the segment’s gross profit increased 68.7% year over year to $14.5 million. In the reported quarter, the retail new-vehicle, retail used-vehicle and wholesale used-vehicle units sold were 1,761, 726 and 301, respectively.

Financial Position

Group 1 Automotive had cash and cash equivalents of $296.9 million as of Sep 30, 2021, up from $66.2 million in the corresponding period of 2020. The long-term debt totaled $1,333.9 million as of Sep 30, 2021, up from the $1,307.8 million recorded in the comparable period of 2020.

Group 1 Automotive, peers of which include AutoNation (AN - Free Report) , Lithia Motors (LAD - Free Report) and Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) , currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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