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Lithia Motors Inc.: Q3 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 22 October 2025: press release. Guidance figures: 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue rose 5% to $9.7 billion: Revenue was the highest third quarter in company history. Nine-month revenue rose 5.3% to $28.4 billion from $27.0 billion. Source
  • Diluted EPS up 11%, adjusted up 17%: Diluted EPS attributable to LAD was $8.61, against $7.73. Net income was $219 million, down 1.1%. Source
  • Gross profit per new unit fell 11%: Average gross profit per new vehicle retail unit was $2,864, down 11.2% from $3,226. Finance and insurance per unit rose 2.1% to $1,840. Source
  • SG&A grew faster than gross profit: SG&A expense rose 5.8% to $998.0 million, while gross profit rose 2.5% to $1,466.0 million. Adjusted SG&A was 67.9% of gross profit against 66.0%. Source
  • North America SG&A ratio at 64.8%: Total adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit was 64.8% in North America. Management cited improved sequential SG&A performance across its North American stores. Source
  • Aftersales gross profit up 9.1%: Aftersales gross profit rose 9.1% on a same-store basis, and aftersales gross margin rose to 58.3% from 55.3%. Aftersales was 10.7% of revenue. Source
  • Repurchased 5.1% of shares in quarter: Share repurchases equalled 5.1% of outstanding shares in the quarter and 8.0% in the first nine months of 2025. Source
  • Three Southeast stores acquired in September: The company acquired Palm Beach Acura, West Palm Beach Hyundai and West Palm Beach Genesis, adding $220 million of expected annualized revenue. Source

“Our teams delivered increases in same-store revenue across our business lines, we achieved improved sequential SG&A performance throughout our North American stores, and Driveway Finance Corporation continues to scale profitably.”

Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Dividend SourceThird quarter 2025 dividend, payable November 21, 2025$0.55 per shareKept

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance kept: Quarterly dividend kept at $0.55 per share, the same amount declared in the second quarter 2025 release. Source
  • New: Three Southeast stores acquired in September 2025, following two Mercedes-Benz stores acquired in June 2025. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Revenue rose 5% to $9.7 billion: Revenue was the highest third quarter in company history. Nine-month revenue rose 5.3% to $28.4 billion from $27.0 billion. Source
  • Diluted EPS up 11%, adjusted up 17%: Diluted EPS attributable to LAD was $8.61, against $7.73. Net income was $219 million, down 1.1%. Source
  • Nine-month adjusted EPS up 25%: Nine-month diluted EPS was $26.42, up 23% from $21.47. Adjusted nine-month diluted EPS was $26.60, up 25% from $21.29. Source
  • Non-core items gap of $0.89: Adjusted diluted EPS sits $0.89 above GAAP diluted EPS after excluding non-core items, which are detailed in the reconciliation tables. Source

Segments and regions

  • Fleet and wholesale revenue declined: Fleet and other revenue fell 9.3% to $166.5 million. Used vehicle wholesale revenue fell 6.1% to $367.0 million. Source
  • United States is most of revenue: The United States was 79.4% of third quarter revenue and 83.1% of gross profit. The United Kingdom was 17.7% and 14.4%, and Canada was 2.9% and 2.5%. Source

“Our disciplined capital allocation was clear as we opportunistically repurchased shares”

Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO

Products, units and pricing

  • New unit sales rose 1.8%: New vehicle retail units rose 1.8% to 96,639, and used vehicle retail units rose 4.0% to 109,097. New average selling price was $47,913, up 2.7%. Source
  • Gross profit per new unit fell 11%: Average gross profit per new vehicle retail unit was $2,864, down 11.2% from $3,226. Finance and insurance per unit rose 2.1% to $1,840. Source
  • Same-store used retail revenue up 11.8%: On a same-store basis, used vehicle retail revenue rose 11.8% to $3,024.4 million, and used retail unit sales rose 6.3%. Source
  • Total gross profit per vehicle down 3.9%: Total gross profit per vehicle unit was $4,104, down 3.9% from $4,271. The nine-month figure fell 2.9% to $4,196. Source

Costs, margins and operations

  • SG&A grew faster than gross profit: SG&A expense rose 5.8% to $998.0 million, while gross profit rose 2.5% to $1,466.0 million. Adjusted SG&A was 67.9% of gross profit against 66.0%. Source
  • North America SG&A ratio at 64.8%: Total adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit was 64.8% in North America. Management cited improved sequential SG&A performance across its North American stores. Source
  • Aftersales gross profit up 9.1%: Aftersales gross profit rose 9.1% on a same-store basis, and aftersales gross margin rose to 58.3% from 55.3%. Aftersales was 10.7% of revenue. Source
  • New vehicle gross margin declined: New vehicle retail gross margin was 6.0% against 6.9%, used vehicle retail 6.2% against 6.6%, and overall gross profit margin 15.2% against 15.5%. Source
  • Floor plan interest expense fell 24.5%: Floor plan interest expense was $57.8 million, against $76.6 million a year earlier, a decrease of 24.5%. Source

Financing operations

  • Finance operations swung to income: Finance operations income was $19.1 million, against a $1.4 million loss a year earlier. Total interest margin was $52.8 million, or 4.6%. Source
  • Managed receivables up 19%: Total average managed finance receivables were $4,541.8 million, against $3,813.0 million a year earlier, an increase of about 19%. Source
  • Provision expense fell to 2.3%: Provision expense was $25.8 million, or 2.3% of average managed receivables, against $31.8 million, or 3.3%, a year earlier. Source

Inventory and demand

  • New days' supply down to 52: New vehicle days' supply was 52 at September 30, 2025, against 59 at December 31, 2024 and 53 a year earlier. Used was 46, against 53 and 46. Source
  • Inventory on balance sheet $5.9 billion: Inventories, net were $5,941.7 million at September 30, 2025, against $5,911.7 million at December 31, 2024. Source
  • Floor plan notes payable down 0.7%: Floor plan notes payable were $4,868.9 million at September 30, 2025, against $4,903.1 million at December 31, 2024. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

  • Repurchased 5.1% of shares in quarter: Share repurchases equalled 5.1% of outstanding shares in the quarter and 8.0% in the first nine months of 2025. Source
  • Quarter buybacks at $312 average: About 1,312,000 shares were repurchased in the quarter at a weighted average price of $312. Year to date, about 2,168,000 shares were repurchased at $313. Source
  • $889.3 million authorization remains: Approximately $889.3 million remained available under the current share repurchase authorization at quarter end. Source
  • Liquidity about $1.9 billion: Management reported about $1.9 billion of cash, marketable securities, and revolving line availability at quarter end. Source
  • Net debt to adjusted EBITDA 2.63x: Net debt was $4,470.9 million, up 4.5%, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 2.63x against 2.81x a year earlier. TTM adjusted EBITDA was $1,701.9 million. Source
  • Nine-month operating cash flow lower: Net cash provided by operating activities was $233.0 million for nine months, against $363.3 million. Adjusted operating cash flow was $914.7 million against $1,062.1 million. Source

Strategy and acquisitions

  • Three Southeast stores acquired in September: The company acquired Palm Beach Acura, West Palm Beach Hyundai and West Palm Beach Genesis, adding $220 million of expected annualized revenue. Source
  • Year-to-date acquired revenue $620 million: Expected annualized revenue from acquisitions year to date was $620 million at September 30, 2025. Source
  • Store disposal proceeds rose: Proceeds from sales of stores were $178.1 million for nine months, against $21.9 million a year earlier. Source

Coming up, as management said on 22 October 2025

  • Dividend payment scheduled: The dividend is expected to be paid November 21, 2025, to holders of record on November 7, 2025. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Comparable sales (same-store total revenue growth) Source7.7%
Average ticket (new vehicle average selling price) Source$47,913
Days' supply, new and used Source52 and 46 days
Gross profit margin Source15.2%
Net gain on store disposals Source$15.4 million

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: A net investment loss in Pinewood Technologies Group PLC, together with acquisition expenses and insurance reserves, was treated as a non-core item and excluded from adjusted results. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.