Tuesday, automotive retailer Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) turned to a profit in the third quarter from a loss in the year-ago period on lower asset impairments; despite a decline in revenue. Group 1 has also revised its full-year guidance.
Group 1 reported net income from continuing operations of $18.3 million or $0.78 per share, compared to a loss of $21.81 million or $0.96 per share. Asset impairments were down 98.5% to $702 thousand from $48.08 million in the year-ago period.
Group 1 reported adjusted profit from continuing operations of $16.8 million or $0.71 per share, compared to adjusted profit of $8.2 million or $0.37 per share in the year-ago period. The adjusted profit excludes the company's net after-tax gains of $1.5 million or $0.07 per share, while the year-ago adjusted profit excluded net after-tax charges of $30.0 million or $1.33 per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.69 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Company's total revenues declined 13.1% to $1.24 billion from $1.43 billion in the year-ago period due to lower sales of new vehicles, used vehicles, parts and services.
Analysts expected revenues of $1.29 billion for the quarter.
Segment-wise, new vehicle retail sales declined 17% to $728.08 million from $877.66 million; used vehicle retail sales declined 2.9% to $254.71 million from $262.44 million; used vehicle wholesale sales declined 26.5% to $43.15 million from $58.68 million and spare parts and services came down 2.8% to $183.25 million from $188.57 million in the year-ago period.
Reflecting the company's cost-control measures, selling, general and administrative expenses were down 14.1% to $162.46 million from $189.20 million in the prior-year period.
Group 1's same-store gross margin improved 100 basis points to 17.0 percent, from third quarter 2008. The gross margin improvement was attributed to improved new vehicle, total used vehicle and the parts and service margins, as well as the continued mix shift to the more profitable segments of the business. For the nine-month period, Group 1 posted net income of $36.79 million or $1.58 per share on revenues of $3.37 billion, compared with $9.36 million or $0.41 per share on revenues of $4.52 billion in the year-ago period.
For the fourth-quarter, the company expects same-store new vehicle margins of 6.0% to 6.5%, used vehicle retail margins of 10.0% to 10.5% and used vehicle wholesale margins at about break-even. It also expects finance and insurance gross profit of $925 to $950 per retail unit for the fourth quarter.
Group 1 has revised its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $1.66 to $1.76 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $1.77 per share.
GPI is currently trading at $29.42, down $3.81 on the NYSE.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.