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SAH Falls Short of Q3 Sales & Earnings Estimates, Hikes Payout

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Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH - Free Report) posted third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $1.26, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 and contracted 37.6% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. Total revenues amounted to $3.49 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.54 billion and declining from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $3.64 billion.

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

SAH stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Quarter in Detail

On a consolidated basis, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.59 billion (almost flat year over year), $1.18 billion (down 12% year over year) and $67.2 million (down 15% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair were up 6% to $479 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues inched up 1% year over year to $175.6 million. Total gross profit declined 7% to $543.6 million.

In the Franchised Dealerships segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.56 billion (flat year over year), $701.4 million (down 10% year over year) and $42.4 million (down 18% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair increased 6% to $459 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues fell 3% to $122.4 million. Same-store revenues from the Franchised Dealership segment fell 2% to roughly $2.88 billion. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 52,321, almost unchanged from the corresponding quarter of 2023.

The EchoPark segment reported quarterly revenues of $545 million, marking a 13% decrease from the year-ago figure. Revenues comprised $470 million (down 15%) from used vehicle sales, $23.8 million from wholesale vehicle sales (down 11%) and $50.8 million (up 12%) from Finance, Insurance and Other. Its stores sold 17,757 and 2,720 used and wholesale vehicle units, down 7% and 1%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Same-store revenues from the EchoPark segment declined 3% to roughly $545 million. Same-store retail units of used and wholesale vehicles came in at 17,757 and 2,270, up 2% and 9%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.

In the Powersports segment, revenues from the sale of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $27 million (flat year over year), $9 million (up 84% year over year) and $1.1 million (down 15% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair dropped 7% to $20.1 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues came in at $2.3 million. Same-store revenues from the Powersports segment were up 4% to $59.4 million. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 2,043 units, down 8% on a year-over-year basis.

Financials

In the third quarter, selling, general and administrative expenses increased 4% year over year to $393 million. As of Sept. 30, Sonic’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $17.6 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $1.58 billion.

Sonic hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 17% to 35 cents, which will be paid out on Jan. 15, 2025, to stockholders of record as of Dec. 13, 2024.

Peer Releases

Lithia Motors (LAD - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $8.21, which declined from the prior-year quarter’s $9.25 but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.59. The auto retailer clocked revenues of $9.2 billion, which increased 11.4% year over year but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.4 billion. Lithia had cash/cash equivalents/restricted cash of $359.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2024, down from $941.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2023. Long-term debt was $6.4 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024, up from $5.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

AutoNation (AN - Free Report) came out with third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.02 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.48 per share. This compares to earnings of $5.54 per share a year ago. The auto retailer posted revenues of $6.59 billion for the quarter ended September 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.18%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $6.89 billion. As of Sept. 30, AN had $1.6 billion in liquidity, including $60 million in cash/cash equivalents. Non-vehicle debt was $3.93 billion.


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