Lithia Q4 Earnings Surpass Expectations, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Core Viewpoint - Lithia Motors (LAD) reported a decline in adjusted earnings per share for Q4 2024, but revenues exceeded expectations due to strong performance in new vehicle retail and used vehicle wholesale segments [1] Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share for Q4 2024 were $7.79, down from $8.24 in the prior year but above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.01 [1] - Total revenues reached $9.22 billion, a 20% increase year over year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.82 billion [1] Segmental Performance - New vehicle retail revenues increased by 18.4% year over year to $4.7 billion, exceeding the estimate of $4.25 billion, driven by a 20.1% rise in units sold to 96,760 [2] - Used vehicle retail revenues rose 16.4% year over year to $2.63 billion but fell short of the estimate of $2.69 billion due to lower-than-expected units sold [3] - Revenues from used vehicle wholesale increased by 40.3% to $340.9 million, exceeding the estimate of $301.8 million [4] - Finance and insurance revenues rose 7.3% to $355.8 million but missed the estimate of $387.9 million [4] Cost and Expenses - Cost of sales increased by 22.4% year over year in Q4 2024 [6] - SG&A expenses were $902.1 million, up 7.8% from $836.8 million in the prior year, representing 66.3% of gross profit [6] Shareholder Returns - The company declared a quarterly dividend of 53 cents, payable on March 21, 2025, to shareholders of record as of March 7, 2025 [7] - Lithia repurchased approximately 1,230,000 shares at an average price of $283 in 2024, with $454.3 million remaining under its buyback authorization [7] Cash and Debt Position - Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash totaled $402.2 million as of December 31, 2024, down from $941.4 million a year earlier [8] - Long-term debt increased to $6.1 billion as of December 31, 2024, up from $5.5 billion as of December 31, 2023 [8]