A Massive Car Dealer Is Raking In Money. Here’s Why Autonation Stock Is Soaring

• AutoNation Inc (NYSE: AN) reported fourth-quarter FY22 sales growth of 2% year-on-year to $6.69 billion, beating the consensus of $6.52 billion.

• Higher average selling prices of vehicles, increased new vehicle unit sales, and continued growth in After-Sales, more than offset lower used vehicle unit sales.

• New vehicle retail unit sales rose 4%, and used vehicle retail unit sales declined 9%.

• Segment income from Domestic fell 25% Y/Y, Import dropped 5%, and Premium Luxury was flat.

• Gross profit declined 3% Y/Y to $1.28 billion, and the gross profit margin contracted 20 basis points Y/Y to 19.1%. After-Sales gross profit increased 12% to $479 million.

• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased by 1.5%.

• Operating margin for the quarter was 6.3%, and the operating income was $424.9 million, a 20% Y/Y decrease.

• Adjusted EPS of $6.37 beat the consensus of $5.83.

• Cash and equivalents totaled $72.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2022. The company said its full-year 2022 cash flows from operations were a record $1.7 billion.

• In 2022, the company reduced shares outstanding by 25% as it repurchased 15.6 million shares, including 4.6 million during the fourth quarter.

• As of Feb. 15, 2023, AutoNation had approximately 47 million shares outstanding, down from 83 million at the end of 2020.

• Price Action: AN shares are trading higher by 8.01% at $152.43 on the last check Friday.

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This article A Massive Car Dealer Is Raking In Money. Here’s Why Autonation Stock Is Soaring originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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