Sonic Automotive (SAH) reported $3.9 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.7%. EPS of $1.51 for the same period compares to $1.63 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.61 billion, representing a surprise of +7.84%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +3.42%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.46.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Sonic Automotive performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Franchised Dealerships Segment- Same store- Unit Sales Volume- Used vehicles: 25,492 versus 25,543 estimated by two analysts on average.
• Franchised Dealerships Segment- Same store- Unit Sales Volume- Total new vehicles: 32,628 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 30,326.
• Franchised Dealerships Segment- Unit Sales Volume- Total new vehicles: 32,756 compared to the 30,349 average estimate based on two analysts.
• Gross Profit Per Unit- Franchised Dealerships Segment-New vehicles: $3,212 compared to the $3,057.38 average estimate based on two analysts.
• Revenues- Parts, service and collision repair: $476.70 million compared to the $462.90 million average estimate based on three analysts.
• Revenues- Wholesale vehicles: $71.30 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $62.94 million.
• Revenues- Total vehicles: $3.23 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $2.97 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +8.1%.
• Revenues- Used vehicles: $1.20 billion versus $1.17 billion estimated by three analysts on average.
• Revenues- New vehicles: $1.96 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $1.74 billion.
• Revenues- Finance, insurance and other, net: $190.60 million versus $180.74 million estimated by three analysts on average.
• Revenues- Powersports: $30.60 million versus $28.36 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +12.5% change.
• Revenues- New vehicles - Fleet: $27.30 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $18.38 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +25.2%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Sonic Automotive here>>>

Shares of Sonic Automotive have returned +12.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +4.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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