AutoNation, a leading seller of new and used cars, has exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with their fourth-quarter earnings report. The company posted earnings of $5.02 per share on revenue of $6.77 billion. Analysts had projected earnings of $4.89 per share on revenue of $6.68 billion, according to FactSet.
Compared to the same period last year, AutoNation’s earnings have decreased from $6.37 per share to $5.02 per share. However, their revenue remained relatively stable at $6.7 billion.
In a statement issued by the CEO, Mike Manley, he expressed satisfaction with their strong performance in the new vehicle unit sales and their competitiveness in the used vehicle market. These factors have contributed to their excellent customer financial services performance and impressive after-sales growth.
During the fourth quarter, new-vehicle revenue experienced a notable increase of 7% to $3.4 billion. Conversely, used-vehicle revenue saw a decrease of 12% to $1.9 billion. On a positive note, after-sales revenue rose by 11% to $4.5 billion, while customer financial services revenue dipped slightly by 1% to $1.4 billion.
As of Tuesday’s premarket trading, shares of AutoNation are up by 0.1% to $154. Over the past year, the stock has gained a total of 9.9%.
In comparison, CarMax’s shares saw a slight decline of 0.1% before the market opened, while Carvana experienced a larger decrease of 1.9%. On the other hand, Penske Automotive Group’s stock remained stable.