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

AutoNation, Inc. AN 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-eps-surprise-chart | AutoNation, Inc. QuoteKey TakeawaysIn 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 DetailsRevenues 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 TidbitsAs 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 PicksAutoNation carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. CPS, OPENLANE, Inc. KAR and Garrett Motion Inc. GTX, 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. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockThis under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AutoNation, Inc. (AN): Free Stock Analysis Report OPENLANE, Inc. (KAR): Free Stock Analysis Report Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (CPS): Free Stock Analysis Report Garrett Motion Inc. (GTX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks