NEW YORK - Sonic Automotive Inc . (NYSE:SAH) reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings on Thursday, though revenue fell short of analyst estimates as the auto retailer continues to face challenges in the used vehicle market. SAH shares were trading flat following the announcement.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.47, beating the analyst consensus of $1.41. However, revenue came in at $3.45 billion, below expectations of $3.6 billion.
Sonic's EchoPark used vehicle segment showed signs of improvement, achieving record second quarter adjusted EBITDA of $7.2 million, up 123% year-over-year. However, EchoPark revenues declined 14% to $517.3 million as used vehicle sales volume fell 3%.
The company's franchised dealerships segment saw revenues decline 4% year-over-year to $2.9 billion, with new vehicle sales down 3% and used vehicle sales down 5%.
"I'm pleased to report that we continued to make great progress in our EchoPark Segment performance in the second quarter, with record second quarter Adjusted EBITDA* that outpaced our previous projections," said CEO David Smith.
Sonic noted its results were negatively impacted by a CDK Global (NASDAQ:CDK) software outage in the last 12 days of the quarter, which it estimates reduced income before taxes by approximately $30 million.
The company maintained its guidance for positive quarterly EchoPark segment adjusted EBITDA for the remainder of 2024.
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