Sonic (SAH) Q4 Earnings Fall Short of Estimates, Decline Y/Y
Sonic Automotive, Inc. SAH registered fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings per share of $1.63, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.80 and declining 37.5% from the year-ago quarter figure. Total revenues amounted to $3,585 million, marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,580 million but falling short of the year-ago figure of $3,590 million.
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, wholesale vehicles totaled $1.7 billion (up 8% year over year), $1.22 billion (down 9% year over year) and $62.6 million (down 22% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 5% to $432 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues declined 4% to $166 million. Gross profit declined 6% to $541.1 million.
In the Franchised Dealerships segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles, wholesale vehicles totaled $1.68 billion (up 8% year over year), $727.5 million (down 12% year over year) and $39.3 million (down 25% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 5% to $425 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues declined 4% to $123.2 million. Same store revenues from the Franchised Dealership segment rose 2% to roughly $3 billion. Same store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 52,626, up 1% on a yearly basis.
The EchoPark segment reported quarterly revenues of $556.6 million, marking a 6% decrease from the year-ago figure. Revenues comprised $492.5 million (down 4%) from used vehicle sales, $22.6 million (down 17%) from wholesale vehicle sales and $41.5 million (down 7%) from Finance, Insurance and Other. Its stores sold 17,562 and 2,621 used and wholesale vehicle units, up 1% and 7%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Same store revenues from the EchoPark segment rose 39% to roughly $481 million. Same store retail units of used and wholesale vehicles came in at 19,204, up 42% on a yearly basis.
In the Powersports segment, revenues from the sales of new vehicles, used vehicles and wholesale vehicles totaled $16.1 million (down 14% year over year), $2.4 million (up 14% year over year) and $0.7 million (up a whopping 600% year over year), respectively. Revenues from Parts, Service and Collison Repair grew 6% to $6.7 million. Finance, Insurance and other revenues remained flat on a year-over-year basis at $1.3 million. Same store revenues from the Powersports segment declined 15% to $24.4 million. Same store retail units of new and used vehicles came in at 1,133, down 9% on a yearly basis.
Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 5% year over year to $386.3 million in the quarter. Sonic declared a quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents, which will be paid out on Apr 15, 2024, to stockholders of record as of Mar 15, 2024. During 2023, Sonic bought back approximately 3.3 million shares for about $177.6 million.
Sonic currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
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Peer Releases
Group 1 Automotive GPI reported fourth-quarter 2023 results on Jan 31. Its adjusted earnings per share of $9.50 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.49. The bottom line also decreased from the prior-year quarter’s earnings of $10.86 per share. It registered net sales of $4.48 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.38 billion. Also, the top line rose from the year-ago quarter’s $4.07 billion.
Group 1 had cash and cash equivalents of $57.2 million as of Dec 31, 2023, up from $47.9 million as of 2022-end. Total debt was $2.1 billion as of Dec 31, 2023, up from $2.08 billion recorded on Dec 31, 2022. During the quarter under discussion, GPI repurchased 160,968 shares at an average price of $262.25 per common share for a total of $42.2 million. The company currently has $143.3 million remaining on its authorized stock buyback program.
Penske Automotive PAG reported fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 7. Its adjusted earnings of $3.45 per share decreased 18% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.66. The company registered net sales of $7.27 billion, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.19 billion. The top line rose 4% from the year-ago quarter's level.
As of Dec 31, 2023, Penske had cash and cash equivalents of $96.4 million, down from $106.5 million as of Dec 31, 2022. The long-term debt amounted to $1.42 billion, down from $1.55 billion as of Dec 31, 2022. During the quarter under discussion, PAG repurchased 0.1 million shares of common stock for $17.6 million. As of Dec 31, 2023, $215.5 million of stock repurchase authorization remained outstanding.
Asbury Automotive ABG reported fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 8. Its adjusted earnings of $7.12 per share 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.
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.
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