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AutoNation's Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • AutoNation's Q3 adjusted EPS rose 25% to $5.01, topping expectations on robust revenue growth.
  • New and used vehicle revenues climbed 7.7% and 7.6%, respectively, aided by higher sales and ASPs.
  • Finance and insurance revenues surged 11.7%, while liquidity reached $1.8 billion at quarter-end.

AutoNation, Inc. (AN - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $5.01 per share, which increased 25% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.85, primarily on the back of better-than-expected revenues from retail new and used vehicles, finance and insurance business. In the quarter under review, revenues amounted to $7.04 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.86 billion and rose from $6.59 billion reported in the third quarter of 2024.

AutoNation, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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 7.7% year over year to $3.42 billion and topped our estimate of $3.2 billion due to higher-than-expected sales volume and average selling price (ASP). New vehicle retail units sold totaled 66,189 units (up 4.8% year over year), beating our projection of 64,873 units. The ASP per new vehicle unit retailed was $51,604 (up 2.8% year over year), beating our estimate of $49,295. Gross profit from the segment came in at $151 million, which declined 14.7% year over year and lagged our estimate of $159.8 million.

Retail used-vehicle revenues increased 7.6% from the year-ago quarter’s figure to $1.87 billion, which surpassed our projection of $1.72 billion due to higher-than-expected volumes and ASP. Used vehicle retail units sold totaled 68,896 units (up 3.7% year over year), beating our projection of 68,081 units. ASP per used vehicle unit retailed came in at $27,205 (up 3.8% year over year) and topped our projection of $25,216. Gross profit from the segment came in at $102.6 million, which fell 2.8% and beat our projection of $95.2million.

Revenues from wholesale used vehicles were down 11.6% to $141.4 million and missed our estimate of $158.8 million. Gross profit rose to $12.3 million from $5.6 million and topped our estimate of $9.6 million. 

Net revenues in the finance and insurance business amounted to $374.8 million, which increased 11.7% from the year-ago quarter and beat our projection of $331.6 million. Gross profit was $374.8 million, which increased 11.7% and beat our estimate of $331.6 million.

Revenues from the parts and service business went up by 4.7% to $1.23 billion but missed our estimate of $1.26 billion. Gross profit from this segment came in at $597 million, which rose 7% year over year but missed our estimate of $602.8 million.

Segmental Details

Revenues from the Domestic segment rose 9.6% year over year to $1.95 billion and topped our projection of $1.76 billion. The segment’s income climbed 30.3% to $81.3 million, surpassing our estimate of $79.3 million.

Revenues from the Import segment increased 6.2% from the prior-year quarter to $2.17 billion and topped our forecast of $2.02 billion. The segment’s income increased 3.8% to $123.7 million and surpassed our model estimate of $133.1 million.  

Premium Luxury segment sales rose 5.5% to $2.56 billion, marginally missing our projection of $2.57 billion. The segmental income grew 4% year over year to $160.9 million in the reported quarter but missed our estimate of $190.7 million.

Financial Tidbits

As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company’s liquidity was $1.8 billion, including $98 million in cash and nearly $1.7 billion available under its revolving credit facility. The firm’s inventory was valued at $3.49 billion. At the end of the third quarter, non-vehicle debt was $3.83 billion. Capital expenditure in the quarter was $68.9 million.

During the quarter, the company bought back 0.8 million shares for $181 million. Currently, AN has $338 million remaining under its share repurchase program.

AN’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

AutoNation carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (CPS - Free Report) , OPENLANE, Inc. (KAR - Free Report) and Garrett Motion Inc. (GTX - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPS’ 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 2.5% and 137.8%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 36 cents and 23 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KAR’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.6% and 37.7%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 have improved 13 cents in the past 90 days. EPS estimates for fiscal 2026 have improved 13 cents in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GTX’s 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 1.8% and 10.3%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 4 cents each in the past seven days. 

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