Sonic Automotive (SAH) Tops Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Group 1: Earnings Performance - Sonic Automotive reported quarterly earnings of $1.51 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 per share, but down from $1.63 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of 3.42% [1] - The company posted revenues of $3.9 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.84%, compared to $3.58 billion in the same quarter last year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Sonic Automotive has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times [2] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - Sonic Automotive shares have increased approximately 18% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 3.2% [3] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $1.25 on revenues of $3.44 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $6.15 on revenues of $14.37 billion [7] - The estimate revisions trend for Sonic Automotive is mixed, resulting in a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating expected performance in line with the market in the near future [6] Group 3: Industry Context - The Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry is currently in the top 29% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable outlook compared to the bottom 50% [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors [5]