Latest LAD news and sentiment

SAH Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, EchoPark Total Unit Sales Rise 16%

PAG Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Auto Sales and Service Growth

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. PAG reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.62 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.38 by 7.1%. Adjusted earnings declined 4.2% from the comparable $3.78 per share a year ago. Revenues rose 6% year over year to $8.51 billion and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.93 billion by 7.4%. Retail automotive same-store new and used units increased 5%, while same-store service and parts gross margin improved 80 basis points to 59.5%. Penske currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurprisePenske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Penske Automotive Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Quote PAG's Retail Automotive Sales Rise Retail automotive revenues increased 6% year over year to $7.3 billion. New vehicle revenues rose 5.9% to $3.38 billion, used vehicle revenues advanced 9.4% to $2.47 billion and finance and insurance revenues increased 1.3% to $211 million. Service and parts revenues rose 1.6% to $867.1 million, while fleet and wholesale revenues declined 0.8% to $375.6 million. Same-store revenues grew 5.7% to $7.12 billion. Retail automotive gross profit slipped 0.7% to $1.16 billion, with gross margin contracting to 15.8% from 16.9%. New vehicle gross profit per retail unit fell 10.4% to $4,782, while used vehicle gross profit per unit declined 8.8% to $2,095. Service and parts gross profit increased 3.1% to $517 million. Penske Automotive Sees Truck Market Improvement Retail commercial truck revenues declined 1.7% year over year to $927.8 million. Total new and used truck units retailed increased 1.7% to 5,431, as a 64.8% jump in used units offset a 7.8% decline in new units. Retail commercial truck gross profit slipped 0.6% to $142.8 million, while gross margin improved 20 basis points to 15.4%. Class 8 market orders increased 170% in the second quarter. Premier Truck Group's backlog was about 10,400 units, with the majority expected to convert into retail sales in the second half of 2026. Used truck demand also strengthened as freight conditions improved. PAG's Distribution Business Delivers Growth Commercial Vehicle Distribution and Other revenues jumped 41.1% year over year to $283.9 million. Gross profit rose 30.5% to $57.7 million, although gross margin declined to 20.3% from 22%. Australia's off-highway business was a key contributor, with revenues increasing 63% in the quarter. The company secured more than $300 million of orders during the period, bringing its 2026 secured order book to nearly $660 million, supported by energy solutions, mining and defense demand. Story Continues Penske Automotive Gets Lift From PTS Penske Transportation Solutions contributed $57.4 million in earnings to PAG, up 7% year over year. The improvement reflected growth in full-service leasing, better fleet utilization, lower operating expenses and lower interest costs. PTS managed more than 379,200 trucks, tractors and trailers. Continued weakness in the rental market and a lower gain on used-truck sales partly offset the benefits from improved freight conditions and fleet-rightsizing actions. PAG's Profitability Faces Margin Pressure Consolidated gross profit edged up 0.4% to $1.36 billion, but gross margin narrowed to 15.9% from 16.8%. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 3.2% to $974 million, and operating income declined 7.6% to $337.6 million. Operating margin fell to 4% from 4.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was $401.8 million, up 0.3%, while other interest expense rose 53.2% to $33.1 million, reflecting higher borrowing costs associated with acquisitions. PAG's Balance Sheet and Capital Returns For the first six months of 2026, cash flow from operations totaled $418 million and capital expenditures were $134.9 million. As of June 30, liquidity was about $1.4 billion, inc

AN Q2 Earnings Beat as After-Sales Unit Hits Record Gross Profit

AutoNation, Inc. AN reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $5.56 per share, up 1.8% from $5.46 a year ago. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.43 by 2.4%. Results benefited from record After-Sales gross profit and stronger Customer Financial Services profitability. Revenues of $6.93 billion declined 0.6% year over year and missed the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion by 0.6%. AutoNation, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseAutoNation, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise AutoNation, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | AutoNation, Inc. Quote AN's After-Sales Business Delivers Record Profit Parts and service revenues increased 3.4% year over year to $1.26 billion. Gross profit rose 1.4% to a record $607.1 million, making After-Sales the largest contributor to AutoNation's gross profit. Customer-pay revenues increased 7% year over year, while wholesale parts revenues advanced 16%. Customer-pay repair orders rose 5% and warranty repair orders increased 8%. Parts and service gross margin declined to 48.1% from 49%, mainly reflecting a higher mix of lower-margin wholesale parts. AutoNation's Finance Businesses Show Momentum Customer Financial Services gross profit totaled $357.6 million, down 2.7% from $367.7 million a year earlier as lower retail vehicle volumes offset stronger per-unit profitability. CFS gross profit per vehicle retailed climbed 3.2% to $2,799 from $2,712. The improvement came despite an approximately 2% drag from higher AutoNation Finance originations. AutoNation Finance, meanwhile, generated income of $10.7 million, up from $2 million a year ago. The portfolio reached $2.67 billion, increasing about 52% from $1.76 billion, while quarterly originations totaled $485 million. AN Finance accounted for 11% of total vehicle sales and 18% of financed vehicle sales, highlighting the growing contribution of the captive finance platform. AN's Vehicle Volumes Remain Under Pressure New vehicle revenues declined 3.1% to $3.29 billion as retail unit sales fell 4% to 63,240. New vehicle gross profit per unit dropped 14.5% to $2,381, reflecting higher vehicle costs. Much of the volume decline was due to weaker battery-electric vehicle sales and difficult comparisons against tariff-related demand pull-forward in 2025. Used vehicle revenues increased 1.3% to $2.01 billion despite a 7.5% decline in retail unit sales to 64,521. Retail used vehicle revenue per unit increased 8.4% to $28,674, while gross profit per unit slipped 2.5% to $1,582. AN's Gross Profit and Adjusted Income Decline Story Continues Total gross profit fell 3.5% year over year to $1.23 billion, with gross margin narrowing to 17.8% from 18.3%. Adjusted operating income declined 7% to $343.1 million from $369.3 million. Adjusted SG&A expenses represented 68.2% of gross profit, improving sequentially from 69.8% in the first quarter but remaining above 66.2% a year ago. Management expects the ratio to reach its 66%-67% target range on a run-rate basis by year-end. AutoNation's Cash Flow Funds Acquisitions and Buybacks Adjusted free cash flow totaled $439.2 million in the first half of 2026, representing 125% of adjusted net income. AutoNation spent $316.5 million on acquisitions and $126 million on capital expenditures during the period. The company also repurchased 2.3 million shares for $457 million in the first half. As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $53.3 million. Non-vehicle debt was $4.43 billion. AutoNation had about $1 billion of liquidity, including $0.9 billion available under its revolving credit facility, net of commercial paper borrowings. AN Expects Earnings Growth in the Second Half Management expects after-sales customer-pay gross profit to maintain mid-single-digit growth, supported by customer retention and technician capacity. With stable vehicle unit profitability, continued CFS and After-Sales growth, AutoNation Finance expansion and a lower share count, management expects adjusted earnings pe

3 Cheap Auto Stocks for Your Short List

(0:30) - What Industry Should You Be Looking At For Strong Value Stocks? (6:15) - Tracey's Top Stock Picks For Your Watch List (24:30) - Episode Roundup: LEA, LAD, GM, MGA, PAG, TM podcast@zacks.com Welcome to Episode #450 of the Value Investor Podcast. Every week, Tracey Ryniec, the editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio, shares some of her top value investing tips and stock picks. The growth stocks are hitting new highs yet again, including the technology stocks, but what if you want a "true" value stock which is also growing earnings? Are there any? Where to Find Value Stocks in 2026 Value investors have been able to buy in several industries in the last few years which remained cheap on a valuation basis, including the banks, insurance, homebuilders, furniture retailers, oil stocks, gold miners, and the auto industry. But in 2026, some of those industries don't seem so cheap anymore. For example, many banks are now hitting new all-time highs and no longer have low price-to-book (P/B) ratios. But the auto industry stocks are genuinely still cheap. This includes many of the auto retailers, the parts companies, and the auto manufacturers themselves. And earnings are starting to turnaround in the auto industry. Cheap and earnings growth. That's a powerful combination. 3 Cheap Auto Stocks for Your Short List 1. Lear Corp. (LEA) Lear is a global automotive technology leader in Seating and E-Systems. It has beat on earnings 10 quarters in a row. On July 31, 2026, Lear reported second quarter 2026 earnings and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10%. It also raised full year 2026 guidance. Earnings are expected to rise 16% in 2026 and 12.7% in 2027. Shares of Lear have fallen 9.9% in the last 3 months. It is cheap. Lear trades with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 8. A P/E ratio under 10 is considered deep value. Should Lear be on your short list? 2. Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) Lithia & Driveway is a global transportation company which operates 450+ automotive retail locations in the United States, Canada, and the UK through Lithia Motors and which operates Driveway where you can buy, sell, finance, or set up service on your car online. On July 29, 2026, Lithia reported second quarter 2026 earnings and beat on the Zacks Consensus by 15.7%. It saw record quarterly revenue of $9.8 billion. Lithia raised full year guidance and increased its dividend by 23%. Earnings are expected to rise 5.4% in 2026 but 15.4% in 2027. Shares of Lithia are up 30.4% in the last 3 months. But it's still cheap with a forward P/E of 10.7. Story Continues Should an auto retailer like Lithia be on your short list? 3. General Motors Co. (GM) General Motors is a global auto manufacturer. It has a great earnings surprise track record with just one earnings miss in the last 5 years. Shares of General Motors are up 12.2% in the last 3 months and are breaking out to new highs since 2011. Earnings are expected to be up 25.4% this year and another 10.8% in 2027. General Motors is dirt-cheap. GM trades with a forward P/E of just 6.5. A P/E under 10 indicates deep value. It also has a Zacks Value Style Score of A, the highest score. Should an auto manufacturer like General Motors be on your short list? What Else Should You Know About the Cheap Auto Industry Stocks? Tune into this week's podcast to find out. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report General Motors Company (GM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lear Corporation (LEA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research View Comments

Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Are Options Traders Betting on a Big Move in Lithia Motors Stock?

Does Removal From Russell Growth Indexes Change The Bull Case For Lithia Motors (LAD)?

OP Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD