AutoNation Earnings Up Next

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

AutoNation (NYS: AN) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 18. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict AutoNation's revenues will expand 11.1% and EPS will grow 10.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $4.34 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.73.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, AutoNation logged revenue of $4.10 billion. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $3.66 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.68. GAAP EPS of $0.68 for Q1 were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.56 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 16.2%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.3%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.0%, much about the same as the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $17.33 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.94.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 173 members out of 237 rating the stock outperform, and 64 members rating it underperform. Among 76 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 62 give AutoNation a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on AutoNation is hold, with an average price target of $45.09.

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The article AutoNation Earnings Up Next originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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