AutoNation (AN) Reports Q1 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

AutoNation (AN) reported $6.49 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.4%. EPS of $4.49 for the same period compares to $6.05 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.5 billion, representing a surprise of -0.15%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +0.90%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $4.45.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how AutoNation performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Unit sales - Total - Retail: 127,984 versus 126,264 estimated by four analysts on average.

• Revenue per Vehicle retailed - New Vehicle: $50,614 versus $51,638.19 estimated by four analysts on average.

• Revenue per Vehicle retailed - Used Vehicle: $26,530 compared to the $27,169.57 average estimate based on four analysts.

• Gross profit per vehicle retailed - Finance and insurance: $2,615 versus the four-analyst average estimate of $2,728.77.

• Unit sales - Used Vehicle - Retail: 69,121 compared to the 68,532 average estimate based on four analysts.

• Revenue- Other: $3.20 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $9.24 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -73.3%.

• Revenue- New Vehicle: $2.98 billion compared to the $3.01 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +1.6% year over year.

• Revenue- Used Vehicle: $2 billion compared to the $1.97 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of -1.8% year over year.

• Revenue- Parts and service: $1.17 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $1.17 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +7.6%.

• Revenue- Finance and insurance net: $334.70 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $342.08 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +0.7%.

• Revenue- Used Vehicle- Retail: $1.83 billion compared to the $1.84 billion average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -2.7% year over year.

• Revenue- Used Vehicle- Wholesale: $162.30 million versus $137.64 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +9.3% change.

View all Key Company Metrics for AutoNation here>>>

Shares of AutoNation have returned -3.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -3.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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