AutoNation(US:AN)2024-10-25 11:00Financial Performance - Q3 2024 revenue totaled $6.6 billion, a decrease of $307 million or 4% compared to the previous year[4] - Q3 2024 diluted EPS was $4.61, down 17% from $5.54 in the same quarter last year[4] - Year-to-date revenue for 2024 was $19.6 billion, down $629 million or 3% compared to the same period last year[8] - Total revenue for Q3 2024 was $6,586.1 million, a decrease of 4.4% compared to $6,892.7 million in Q3 2023[17] - Operating income decreased to $350.7 million, a decline of 16.4% compared to $419.5 million in the same quarter last year[17] - Net income from continuing operations was $185.8 million, down 23.7% from $243.7 million in Q3 2023[17] - Adjusted EPS for Q3 2024 was $4.02, a decrease of 27% from $5.54 in the same quarter last year[4] - Total gross profit for Q3 2024 was $1,182.8 million, down 8.6% from $1,294.6 million in Q3 2023[18] - Total consolidated revenue for Q3 2024 was $6,586.1 million, a decrease of 4.4% from $6,892.7 million in Q3 2023[20] Vehicle Sales - New vehicle retail unit sales increased by 2% year-over-year to 63,150 units, while used vehicle retail unit sales decreased by 8% to 66,454 units[4] - New vehicle revenue decreased to $3,171.2 million from $3,187.6 million, while used vehicle revenue fell to $1,901.4 million from $2,172.1 million[17] - New vehicle unit sales increased by 1.4% to 63,150 units in Q3 2024, while used vehicle unit sales decreased by 8.4% to 66,454 units[18] - Retail new vehicle unit sales for domestic markets decreased by 1.0% to 17,583 units in Q3 2024 from 17,766 units in Q3 2023[20] - Retail used vehicle unit sales in domestic markets dropped by 16.6% to 18,681 units in Q3 2024 compared to 22,406 units in Q3 2023[20] Profit Margins - The gross profit margin for new vehicles was 5.6% in Q3 2024, down from 7.9% in Q3 2023[19] - New vehicle gross profit margin decreased to 5.6% from 7.9% year-over-year[28] - Used vehicle gross profit margin for retail sales was 6.1%, slightly down from 6.3% in the previous year[28] - Total variable operations gross profit per vehicle retailed decreased by 13.8% to $4,798 from $5,568 in the prior year[27] Expenses and Costs - Total cost of sales for Q3 2024 was $5,403.3 million, a decrease of 3.5% from $5,598.1 million in Q3 2023[17] - Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $811.3 million, slightly down from $819.3 million in Q3 2023[17] - Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue increased to 12.3% in Q3 2024 from 11.9% in Q3 2023[19] - The company reported a decrease in finance and insurance net revenue to $335.4 million from $369.5 million in Q3 2023[17] Shareholder Actions - The company repurchased 36,000 shares for $6 million in Q3 2024, with a total of 2.2 million shares repurchased year-to-date for $356 million[10] - Stock repurchases totaled $5.6 million in Q3 2024, significantly lower than $200.0 million in Q3 2023[21] Liquidity and Debt - AutoNation had $1.6 billion in liquidity as of September 30, 2024, including $60 million in cash and $1.5 billion available under its revolving credit facility[10] - Non-recourse debt increased to $645.9 million from $246.1 million, a significant rise of $399.8 million[22] Divestitures and Capital Expenditures - The company divested seven Domestic stores and one Import store, resulting in net proceeds of $156 million and a pre-tax gain of $53.9 million[11] - Capital expenditures for Q3 2024 were $81.0 million, down from $87.0 million in Q3 2023[21] - Cash received from divestitures was $156.0 million in Q3 2024, with no divestitures reported in Q3 2023[21] One-time Costs - The company reported a one-time cost of $42.8 million associated with a CDK outage, impacting overall financial performance[26]