Lithia Q2 EPS Jumps 17% to $11.54, Dividend Hiked 23% on Record Revenue
LAD sits 55% above its 52-week low of $239.78.
Summary
Lithia delivered a strong Q2 with record revenue of $9.8 billion and diluted EPS of $11.54, up 17% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS rose 9% to $10.03, beating the prior year's $9.20. The company showed broad operational improvement: used retail GPU jumped 20% sequentially, aftersales gross margin expanded 120 bps on a same-store basis, and adjusted SG&A as a percent of gross profit improved 290 bps sequentially. Financing Operations hit record income of $37 million on $884 million in originations. Returning capital to shareholders, Lithia repurchased $242 million in shares (3.7% of outstanding) and raised the quarterly dividend 23% to $0.70. This follows a mixed Q1 where EPS declined sharply, making the Q2 rebound and margin gains a positive signal. The stock is trading near its 52-week high, reflecting improved sentiment. The earnings call at 10:00 a.m. ET today will provide further color on the second-half outlook.
At the time of this announcement, LAD was trading at $371.90 on NYSE in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.2B. The 52-week trading range was $239.78 to $361.24. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: GlobeNewswire.