Sonic (SAH) Q1 Earnings Exceed Expectations, Sales Miss
Sonic Automotive, Inc. SAH registered first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $1.36, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.23 and rising 2.2% from the year-ago quarter figure. Total revenues amounted to $3.38 billion, marginally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.39 billion and declining from the year-ago figure of $3.49 billion.
Sonic Automotive, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Sonic Automotive, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sonic Automotive, Inc. Quote
Quarter in Detail
On a consolidated basis, revenues from sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.47 billion (up 1% year over year), $1.21 billion (down 10% year over year) and $77.3 million (down 10% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 4% to $446.7 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues remained flat year over year at $169 million. Total gross profit declined 3% to $536.2 million.
In the Franchised Dealerships segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $1.46 billion (up 1% year over year), $729.3 million (down 5% year over year) and $48.6 million (down 17% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 4% to $440 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues rose 2% to $119.6 million. Same-store revenues from the Franchised Dealership segment rose 1% to roughly $2.78 billion. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 50,777, down 1% on a yearly basis.
The EchoPark segment reported quarterly revenues of $559.4 million, marking a 14% decrease from the year-ago figure. Revenues comprised $482.9 million (down 16%) from used vehicle sales, $28.6 million (up 6%) from wholesale vehicle sales and $47.9 million (down 4%) from Finance, Insurance and Other. Its stores sold 17,981 and 2,994 used and wholesale vehicle units, down 10% and up 3%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Same-store revenues from the EchoPark segment rose 11% to roughly $546.2 million. Same-store retail units of used and wholesale vehicles came in at 20,403, up 15.4% on a yearly basis.
In the Powersports segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $15.9 million (down 24% year over year), $3.4 million (down 29% year over year) and $0.1 million (down 50% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 1% to $6.8 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues remained flat on a year-over-year basis at $1.5 million. Same-store revenues from the Powersports segment declined 22% to $25.8 million. Same-store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 1,164, down 22% on a yearly basis.
Financials
Selling, general and administrative expenses were down 5% year over year to $392.2 million in the quarter. As of Mar 31, Sonic’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $15.1 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $1.58 billion.
Sonic declared a quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents, which will be paid out on Jul 15, 2024, to stockholders of record as of Jul 15, 2024. During the first quarter of 2024, Sonic bought back approximately 0.5 million shares for about $27 million.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Sonic currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
A few top-ranked players in the auto space are PACCAR PCAR and Oshkosh Corp OSK, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PCAR’s 2024 and 2025 EPS has moved up by 8 cents and 10 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days. The trucking giant surpassed earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 17.07%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSK’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 10% and 4.3%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved by 8 cents and 9 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
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