Lithia Motors: 1Q Earnings Snapshot

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) _ Lithia Motors Inc. (LAD) on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $56.4 million.

On a per-share basis, the Medford, Oregon-based company said it had net income of $2.42. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $2.44 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.15 per share.

The auto dealership chain posted revenue of $2.85 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.89 billion.

Lithia Motors shares have increased 28 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has decreased roughly 3 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LAD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LAD