Used car e-retailer Carvana CVNA reported earnings of 64 cents per share, which breezed past the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the year-ago quarter earnings of 23 cents. Revenues of $3.66 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.47 billion and rose 32% year over year.
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CVNA stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Carvana Co. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Carvana Co. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Carvana Co. Quote
Key Highlights
Total gross profit amounted to $807 million, up 67.4% year over year. Total gross profit per unit (GPU) was $7,427, rising from $5,952 in the year-ago period and exceeding our estimate of $6,880. SG&A expenses were $469 million, up 8.3% year over year. Carvana achieved an adjusted EBITDA of $429 million for the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter under review was 11.7%, up from 5.3% in the third quarter of 2023.
Segmental Performance
Retail vehicle sales totaled $2.54 billion in the quarter, rising 30.5% year over year and topping our estimate of $2.52 billion on the back of higher-than-expected sales volume. During the reported quarter, the number of vehicles sold to retail customers rose 34.2% to 108,651 from the prior-year period and exceeded our estimate of 105,518 units. Gross profit amounted to $380 million, up 74.3% year over year. Gross profit per unit came in at $3,497, significantly up from $2,692 generated in the year-ago period as well as ahead of our expectations of $3,011.
In the third quarter, wholesale vehicle sales totaled $786 million, up 28.9% year over year. Sales breezed past our estimate of $475 million amid higher-than-expected unit sales. During the reported quarter, the number of vehicles sold to wholesale customers soared 38.2% to 56,487 from the prior-year period and exceeded our estimate of 49,214 units. Gross profit came in at $101 million, rocketing 102% from the corresponding quarter of 2023. GPU came in at $930, up 50.5% year over year and above our estimate of $633.
In the period under consideration, other sales and revenues rose 52.3% year over year to $326 million and beat our forecast of $214 million. Gross profit was $326 million, up 52.3% year over year. GPU came in at $3,000, up 13.6% year over year. However, it missed our estimate of $3,235.
Financial Position
Carvana had cash and cash equivalents of $871 million as of Sept. 30, 2024, compared with $530 million as of Dec. 31, 2023. Long-term debt was $5.43 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024, compared with $5.41 billion recorded on Dec. 31, 2023.
Outlook
Carvana expects a sequential increase in year-over-year growth of retail unit sales in the fourth quarter of 2024. For full-year 2024, it expects adjusted EBITDA to be significantly above the high end of the prior guided range of $1-$1.2 billion.
Quarterly Releases of Other Auto Retailers
Lithia Motors LAD reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $8.21, which declined from the prior-year quarter’s $9.25 but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.59. The auto retailer clocked revenues of $9.2 billion, which increased 11.4% year over year but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.4 billion. Lithia had cash/cash equivalents/restricted cash of $359.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2024, down from $941.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2023. Long-term debt was $6.4 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024, up from $5.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.
AutoNation AN came out with third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.02 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.48 per share. This compares to earnings of $5.54 per share a year ago. The auto retailer posted revenues of $6.59 billion for the quarter ended September 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.18%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $6.89 billion. As of Sept. 30, AN had $1.6 billion in liquidity, including $60 million in cash/cash equivalents. Non-vehicle debt was $3.93 billion.
Sonic Automotive, Inc. SAH posted third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $1.26, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 and contracted 37.6% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. Total revenues amounted to $3.49 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.54 billion and declining from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $3.64 billion.As of Sept. 30, Sonic’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $17.6 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $1.58 billion.
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