Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Penske Automotive (PAG) reports results for the quarter ended September 2025. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on Octo ...

Lithia Motors (LAD) came out with quarterly earnings of $9.5 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.53 per share. This compares to earnings of $8.21 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +11.37%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this auto dealership chain would post earnings of $9.78 per share when it actually produced earnings of $10.24, delivering a surprise of +4.7%.Over the last four quarters, t ...

Group 1 Automotive (GPI) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended September 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.The earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 28, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better th ...

Have you been searching for a stock that might be well-positioned to maintain its earnings-beat streak in its upcoming report? It is worth considering Group 1 Automotive (GPI) , which belongs to the Zacks Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry.This auto dealer has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 8.40%.For the last reported quarter, Group 1 Automotive came out wi ...

Core Insights - Sonic Automotive (SAH) has experienced a price change of 13.43% this year and currently offers a dividend of $0.38 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.12%, which is significantly higher than the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale industry's yield of 0.48% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51% [3] - The company's annualized dividend of $1.52 has increased by 21.6% from the previous year, with an average annual increase of 33.71% over the last five years [4] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAH's earnings in 2025 is $7.21 per share, reflecting an expected increase of 28.75% from the previous year [5] - Sonic Automotive has a current payout ratio of 22%, indicating that it pays out 22% of its trailing 12-month earnings per share as dividends [4] - The company is positioned as an attractive investment opportunity, not only due to its dividend yield but also because it holds a strong Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) [6] Industry Insights - Dividends are a significant component of long-term returns, often accounting for over one-third of total returns [2] - Established firms with secure profits are typically viewed as the best dividend options, while high-growth businesses and tech startups rarely offer dividends [6] - Income investors should be aware that high-yielding stocks may face challenges during periods of rising interest rates [6]

Group 1 - AutoNation (AN) is a notable stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, currently outperforming its peers with a year-to-date return of approximately 27.1% compared to the sector average of 5.1% [4] - The Zacks Rank system indicates that AutoNation holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), reflecting improved analyst sentiment and a stronger earnings outlook, with a 5.2% increase in the consensus estimate for full-year earnings over the past 90 days [3] - AutoNation is part of the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale industry, which includes 10 companies and is currently ranked 18 in the Zacks Industry Rank, outperforming the industry's average gain of 1.2% this year [5] Group 2 - Dollar General (DG) is another strong performer in the Retail-Wholesale sector, with a year-to-date return of 34.4% and a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), supported by a 6.4% increase in the consensus EPS estimate over the past three months [4][5] - The Retail - Discount Stores industry, to which Dollar General belongs, is ranked 32 and has seen a gain of 3.5% this year, indicating a relatively weaker performance compared to AutoNation [6]

Group 1 - Envela Corporation (ELA) has shown a year-to-date return of 8.6%, outperforming the average return of 6.7% for the Retail-Wholesale sector [4] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ELA's full-year earnings has increased by 16.7% in the past quarter, indicating improved analyst sentiment and a stronger earnings outlook [4] - Envela Corporation currently holds a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), suggesting it has characteristics that may lead to outperformance in the market over the next one to three months [3] Group 2 - Envela Corporation is part of the Retail - Jewelry industry, which consists of 6 companies and is currently ranked 197 in the Zacks Industry Rank [6] - The Retail - Jewelry industry has gained an average of 13.3% year-to-date, indicating that ELA is slightly underperforming its industry [6] - In contrast, Sonic Automotive, another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, has a year-to-date return of 14.4% and is part of the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale industry, which is ranked 97 [5][7]

Company Performance - Sonic Automotive (SAH) has gained approximately 24.5% year-to-date, significantly outperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector, which has seen an average gain of about 8.1% [4] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAH's full-year earnings has increased by 11.4% over the past quarter, indicating improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook [3] Industry Comparison - Sonic Automotive is part of the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale industry, which includes 10 stocks and currently ranks 81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This industry has gained an average of 7.9% so far this year, showing that SAH is performing better than its peers in this specific area [5] - Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Somnigroup International (SGI), has outperformed the sector with a year-to-date return of 49%, while SGI belongs to the Retail - Home Furnishings industry, which is ranked 212 and has only moved +3.3% this year [4][6]

Core Insights - America's Car-Mart (CRMT) reported a quarterly loss of $0.69 per share, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but a significant decline from a loss of $0.15 per share a year ago, indicating a -200.00% earnings surprise [1] - The company generated revenues of $341.31 million for the quarter ended July 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.45% and down from $347.76 million year-over-year [2] - The stock has underperformed, losing approximately 12.9% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.6% [3] Earnings Outlook - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, as it includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters and any recent changes to these expectations [4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the next quarter is $0.60 on revenues of $384.04 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $3.85 on revenues of $1.52 billion [7] Industry Context - The Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry, to which America's Car-Mart belongs, is currently in the top 25% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors or through tools like the Zacks Rank [5][6]

Core Viewpoint - Penske Automotive has shown a positive trend in its stock performance, with shares increasing by approximately 11.7% since the last earnings report, outperforming the S&P 500. The upcoming earnings release will be crucial in determining whether this trend continues or if a pullback occurs [1]. Financial Performance - Penske reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $3.78 per share, a 4.7% increase year over year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.56 [2]. - The company achieved net sales of $7.66 billion, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.87 billion and represented a 0.4% decline from the previous year [2]. - Gross profit rose by 2.6% year over year to $1.30 billion, while operating income increased by 3% to $348.2 million [3]. Segment Performance - In the Retail Automotive segment, revenues decreased by 1.5% to $6.52 billion, missing estimates, with same-store retail units down 9.9% year over year [5][4]. - The Retail Commercial Truck segment saw revenues increase by 5.7% to $943.6 million, exceeding estimates, although gross profit slightly declined [6]. - The Commercial Vehicle Distribution and Other segment's revenues rose by 6.5% to $201.2 million, surpassing estimates, but gross profit decreased [7]. Financial Metrics - SG&A costs totaled $906.3 million, up 2.1% year over year. Cash and cash equivalents increased to $155.3 million, while long-term debt decreased to $906.7 million [8]. - The company repurchased 630,044 shares for $93.3 million, with $295.7 million remaining in stock repurchase authorization [9]. Dividend and Shareholder Returns - Penske increased its quarterly dividend by 6 cents to $1.32 per share, marking the 19th consecutive quarterly increase, with the dividend payment scheduled for September 3, 2025 [9]. Market Outlook - Recent estimates for Penske have been trending upward, indicating a promising outlook. The company holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), suggesting an expectation of in-line returns in the coming months [13]. Industry Comparison - Penske operates within the Zacks Automotive - Retail and Wholesale industry, where competitor Sonic Automotive has gained 16.6% over the past month, reporting a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.9% [14].