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AutoNation (AN) Q4 Earnings and Sales Beat, Logs Y/Y Growth
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AutoNation Inc. (AN - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of $6.37 per share, which jumped 11% year over year and outstripped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.89. This outperformance can be primarily attributed to the higher-than-expected sales and profit from new-vehicle and parts and service units.
In the reported quarter, revenues amounted to $6,697 million, growing 2% year over year and topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,375 million.
AutoNation, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
In the reported quarter, new-vehicle revenues grew 7.9% year over year to $3,148 million. It also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,814 million. Gross profit from the segment came in at $338.4 million, declining 8.9% from $371.5 million but surpassing the consensus mark of $309 million.
Used-vehicle revenues declined 7.5% from the year-ago figure to $2,167 million, but lagged the consensus mark of $2,230 million. Gross profit from the segment came in at $118 million, down 29.8% but surpassing the consensus mark of $116 million.
Net revenues in the finance and insurance businesses amounted to $345 million, down 2.4% from the year-ago quarter and missing the consensus mark of $347 million. Gross profit was $345 million.
Revenues from the parts and service business rose 7% to $1,028.3 million, topping the consensus metric of $1,024 million. Gross profit from this segment came in at $478.9 million, up 12.3% year over year and beating the consensus mark of $470 million.
Segmental Details
Revenues from the Domestic segment were down 7.6% year over year to $1,879.4 million. The segment’s income fell 39.1% to $120.1 million in the reported quarter.
Revenues from the Import segment rose 1.1% from the prior-year quarter to $1,891.3 million. However, the segment’s income contracted 5% to $175.2 million.
Premium Luxury segment sales rose 9.7% to $2,676.4 million. The segmental income declined 0.1% year over year to $246.9 million in the reported quarter.
Financial Tidbits
The adjusted SG&A expenses, as a percentage of gross profit, were 59.2%, an improvement from 56.7% in the year-ago period. Expenses rose to $766.7 million from $755.7 million.
AutoNation’s cash and cash equivalents were $72.6 million as of Dec 31, 2022, a whopping rise from $60.4 million in the year-ago period. The company’s liquidity was $1.8 billion, including $73 million in cash and nearly $1.75 billion available under its revolving credit facility.
The firm’s inventory was valued at $2,048.3 million. At the end of the fourth quarter, non-vehicle debt was $3,649.5 million, up from $3,198.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Capital expenditures in the quarter amounted to $96.1 million, up from $65.7 million.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, AutoNation repurchased 4.6 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $497.2 million. As of Feb 15, 2023, it had approximately 47 million shares outstanding.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
AN currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A few better-ranked players in the auto space include Wabash National (WNC - Free Report) , Modine Manufacturing (MOD - Free Report) and Hyliion (HYLN - Free Report) . WNC and MOD sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and HYLN carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Wabash is one of the leading manufacturers of semi-trailers in North America. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WNC’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 13.06% and 24%, respectively.
Modine designs and manufactures world-class thermal dynamic equipment for today's agricultural, mining & construction equipment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOD’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 11.43% and 43.09%, respectively.
Hyliion provides electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HYLN’s 2023 sales implies year-over-year growth of 538.07%.
Image: Bigstock
AutoNation (AN) Q4 Earnings and Sales Beat, Logs Y/Y Growth
AutoNation Inc. (AN - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of $6.37 per share, which jumped 11% year over year and outstripped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.89. This outperformance can be primarily attributed to the higher-than-expected sales and profit from new-vehicle and parts and service units.
In the reported quarter, revenues amounted to $6,697 million, growing 2% year over year and topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,375 million.
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 grew 7.9% year over year to $3,148 million. It also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,814 million. Gross profit from the segment came in at $338.4 million, declining 8.9% from $371.5 million but surpassing the consensus mark of $309 million.
Used-vehicle revenues declined 7.5% from the year-ago figure to $2,167 million, but lagged the consensus mark of $2,230 million. Gross profit from the segment came in at $118 million, down 29.8% but surpassing the consensus mark of $116 million.
Net revenues in the finance and insurance businesses amounted to $345 million, down 2.4% from the year-ago quarter and missing the consensus mark of $347 million. Gross profit was $345 million.
Revenues from the parts and service business rose 7% to $1,028.3 million, topping the consensus metric of $1,024 million. Gross profit from this segment came in at $478.9 million, up 12.3% year over year and beating the consensus mark of $470 million.
Segmental Details
Revenues from the Domestic segment were down 7.6% year over year to $1,879.4 million. The segment’s income fell 39.1% to $120.1 million in the reported quarter.
Revenues from the Import segment rose 1.1% from the prior-year quarter to $1,891.3 million. However, the segment’s income contracted 5% to $175.2 million.
Premium Luxury segment sales rose 9.7% to $2,676.4 million. The segmental income declined 0.1% year over year to $246.9 million in the reported quarter.
Financial Tidbits
The adjusted SG&A expenses, as a percentage of gross profit, were 59.2%, an improvement from 56.7% in the year-ago period. Expenses rose to $766.7 million from $755.7 million.
AutoNation’s cash and cash equivalents were $72.6 million as of Dec 31, 2022, a whopping rise from $60.4 million in the year-ago period. The company’s liquidity was $1.8 billion, including $73 million in cash and nearly $1.75 billion available under its revolving credit facility.
The firm’s inventory was valued at $2,048.3 million. At the end of the fourth quarter, non-vehicle debt was $3,649.5 million, up from $3,198.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Capital expenditures in the quarter amounted to $96.1 million, up from $65.7 million.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, AutoNation repurchased 4.6 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $497.2 million. As of Feb 15, 2023, it had approximately 47 million shares outstanding.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
AN currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A few better-ranked players in the auto space include Wabash National (WNC - Free Report) , Modine Manufacturing (MOD - Free Report) and Hyliion (HYLN - Free Report) . WNC and MOD sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and HYLN carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Wabash is one of the leading manufacturers of semi-trailers in North America. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WNC’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 13.06% and 24%, respectively.
Modine designs and manufactures world-class thermal dynamic equipment for today's agricultural, mining & construction equipment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOD’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 11.43% and 43.09%, respectively.
Hyliion provides electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HYLN’s 2023 sales implies year-over-year growth of 538.07%.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.