Earnings Preview For AutoNation (AN)

AutoNation AN will be reporting its Q1 results before the bells ring on Tuesday, April 26. Analysts are predicting earnings per share will go up from previous year's level of $0.34 to $0.43, an increase of 26.5%. Analysts have also upgraded their estimates by $0.01 a month ago. AutoNation is the largest auto retailer in the USA, currently based in Florida. As of December 31, 2010, the Company owned and operated 242 new vehicle franchises from 206 stores located in the United States, in metropolitan markets in the Sunbelt region. Its stores sell 31 different brands of new vehicles. It operates in three segments: Domestic, Import and Premium Luxury. The Domestic segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The Import segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell vehicles manufactured by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. The Premium Luxury segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell vehicles manufactured by Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus. AutoNation recently published a strong 23% rise in Q1 sales, compared to a year ago. Its sales and shares might be hit by production disruptions in Japan, however, due to the problems caused by recent earthquake and tsunami. At the same time, while Japanese car companies accounted for producing half of AutoNation's new unit sales in 2010, about two-thirds of those cars are actually assembled in North America. Analysts are, therefore, still expecting AutoNation's revenues to rise in the next quarter. After a losing streak in the first half of April, AutoNation's shares have gained some ground recently, adding 5.22% to their value since April 14 to stand at $34.05 at the end of last week.