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Sonic Automotive Q3 Earnings Miss Expectations, Revenues Rise Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • Sonic Automotive's Q3 EPS of $1.41 missed expectations but rose 11.9% from last year.
  • Total revenues advanced 14% year over year to $4 billion, topping consensus projections.
  • Franchised and Powersports segments posted strong double-digit sales and service revenue gains.

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH - Free Report) posted third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.41, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.82 but improved 11.9% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues amounted to $4 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.67 billion and rose from the year-ago quarter’s $3.5 billion.

SAH’s Q3 in Detail

On a consolidated basis, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.9 billion (up 19% year over year), $1.25 billion (up 6% year over year) and $84.2 million (up 25%), respectively. Revenues from parts, service and collision repair were up 11% to $533.9 million. Finance, insurance and other revenues rose 16% year over year to $203.8 million. Total gross profit increased 13% to $615.5 million.

In the Franchised Dealerships segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.86 billion (up 19% year over year), $796.7 million (up 14%) and $52.8 million (up 25%), respectively. Revenues from parts, service and collision repair increased 11% to $510.1 million. Finance, insurance and other revenues jumped 21% to $147.6 million. The segment’s same-store revenues rose 11% to more than $3 billion. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles were 54,897, up 5% from the corresponding quarter of 2024.

The EchoPark segment reported quarterly revenues of $522.5 million, down 4% year over year. Revenues comprised $439.2 million (down 7%) from used vehicle sales, $30.4 million (up 28%) from wholesale vehicle sales and $52.9 million (up 4%) from finance, insurance and other. Its stores sold 16,353 and 3,224 used and wholesale vehicle units, down 8% and up 19%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.

In the Powersports segment, revenues from the sale of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $38.8 million (up 44% year over year), $17.2 million (up 91%) and $1 million (down 9%), respectively. Revenues from parts, service and collision repair rose 18% to $23.8 million. Finance, insurance and other revenues were $3.3 million. The segment’s same-store revenues were up 35% to $78.3 million. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles were 2,822, up 42% on a year-over-year basis.

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

Other Tidbits

In the third quarter, Sonic Automotive’s selling, general and administrative expenses increased 15% year over year to 73.4% of gross profit. 

SAH had cash & cash equivalents of $89.4 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, up from $44 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt was $1.44 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025, down from $1.51 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Sonic Automotive announced a quarterly dividend of 38 cents per share, which will be paid out on Jan. 15, 2025, to its stockholders of record as of Dec. 15.

Sonic’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

SAH 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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