Auto Stock Roundup: March Sales Dip, KMX Q4 Earnings Top, F Launches Hybrid Models
Zacks Investment Research | Apr 03, 2019 10:10PM ET
Auto giants in the United States released sales figures for March 2019. Like the first two months of 2019, the U.S. auto sales trajectory persistently declined in March. This uninterrupted fall in auto sales has placed automakers, which are already struggling with weakening conditions in other major global markets, in a tight spot. The sales decline was due to consumers abandoning passenger cars for larger and more-comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs as well as soaring vehicle prices and unfavorable interest rates.
Among the leading auto manufacturers, Detroit-based General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , which doesn’t report monthly sales anymore, witnessed 7% decline in vehicle sales for first-quarter 2019 from the prior-year quarter. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is another auto manufacturer that doesn’t release monthly figures anymore. Per industry data, the company’s sales are projected to fall 5% year over year in March, followed by a 2% decline in the first quarter.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s (NYSE:F) March sales decreased 7.4% to 200,307 units. Further, monthly sales for Toyota Motor Company (NYSE:TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (OTC:NSANY) deteriorated 3.5% and 7.2%, respectively, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) witnessed a 4.3% increase in sales.
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1. CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX) posted net earnings per share of $1.13 in fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Feb 28, 2019), up 68.7% from 67 cents in the year-ago period. Moreover, earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04. The company’s net earnings increased 57.6% year over year to $192.6 million.
Moreover, net sales and operating revenues in the reported quarter increased 5.7% year over year to $4.32 billion. However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.39 billion. Total gross profit rose 11.7% year over year to $599.4 million.
During fourth-quarter fiscal 2019, CarMax’s used-vehicle sales rose 5.8% from the prior-year period to $3.6 billion as unit sales increased 5.6% to 180,207 vehicles. The average selling price of used vehicles rose 0.3% from the year-ago quarter to $19,978. Comparable store used-vehicle units sold rose 2.8% from the prior-year level. This performance reflects improved conversion, partially offset by lower store traffic.
Wholesale vehicle revenues rose 3.1% from a year ago to $543.8 million in the reported quarter. Units sold increased 3.7% year over year to 102,887 vehicles, courtesy of growth in store base. The average selling price of wholesale vehicles declined 1% from the prior-year quarter to $5,024.
Other sales and revenues increased 14.6% year over year. Moreover, the extended protection plan’s (EPP) revenues rose 19.9% from the year-ago level.
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CarMax Auto Finance (“CAF”) reported a year-over-year increase of 2.6% in income to $103.7 million in the quarter under review, reflecting collective effects of 7.8% rise in average managed receivables and a slightly lower total interest margin percentage. (Read more: Zacks Investment Research
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