Group 1 Automotive Misses Q3 Estimates as Revenue Falls 6.7%
GPI sits 18% above its 52-week low of $224.65.
Summary
Group 1 posted Q3 adjusted EPS of $9.36, short of the $9.50 consensus, on revenue of $5.40 billion — down 6.7% year over year and below the $5.58 billion analysts expected. GAAP EPS was $8.59 with net income of $102 million. This is the fourth straight quarterly miss, and the estimate trend has been deteriorating: the mean earnings estimate fell about 17.3% over the last three months, with nine analysts cutting in the past 30 days. The miss lands just a week after the company closed its $1.3 billion Hennessy acquisition of 10 Atlanta dealerships, funded partly by the $1.25 billion senior notes that closed September 22 — so the market will want to see whether the new stores lift results. Activist Conifer Management has been building aggressively, buying tens of millions in stock through September and reaching a 15%+ stake with a board seat secured via the September 22 stockholder agreement, which raises the pressure on management to fix the earnings trend.
At the time of this announcement, GPI was trading at $265.45 on NYSE in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.2B. The 52-week trading range was $224.65 to $429.00. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Reuters.