Asbury Automotive Group ABG reported fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings of $7.12 per share, which decreased 21.9% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.74 on lower-than-expected sales from used-vehicle and parts and service segments.
In the reported quarter, revenues amounted to $3.81 billion, which increased 3% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.77 billion.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. Quote
Segment Details
In the quarter, new-vehicle revenues rose 11% year over year to $2.06 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.96 billion. Gross profit from the segment came in at $171 million, decreasing 13.6% from the prior-year quarter and surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $161 million.
Used-vehicle revenues declined 7% from the year-ago figure to $1.07 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09 billion. Gross profit from the segment came in at $54 million, which fell 20.6% and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $62 million.
Net revenues in the finance and insurance business amounted to $171.2 million, down 10% from the year-ago quarter but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $157 million. Gross profit was $163 million, which rose 5.8% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $153 million.
Revenues from the parts and service business dipped 1% from the prior-year quarter to $513.4 million and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $556 million. Gross profit from this segment came in at $285 million, falling 2.1% year over year and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $301 million.
Other Tidbits
Adjusted selling, general & administrative expenses as a percentage of gross profit rose to 61.5%, marking an increase of 442 basis points year over year.
As of Dec 31, 2023, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $45.7 million, down from $235.3 million as of Dec 31, 2022. It had a long-term debt of $3.21 billion as of Dec 31, 2023, down from $3.3 billion as of Dec 31, 2022.
During the quarter under review, Asbury repurchased 246,000 shares for $47 million. On Dec 31, 2023, ABG had $203 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
ABG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the auto space are Modine Manufacturing Company MOD, NIO Inc. NIO and Oshkosh Corporation OSK. MOD sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while NIO & OSK carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOD’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 4% and 67.2%, respectively. The earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 22 cents each in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NIO’s 2023 sales implies year-over-year growth of 10.4%. The EPS estimates for 2024 have improved 7 cents in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSK’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 6.7% and 4%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 16 cents and 29 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
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