Q4 Earnings Forecast for AutoNation Issued By Zacks Research

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) - Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AutoNation in a report issued on Thursday, July 3rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $4.82 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $4.69. The consensus estimate for AutoNation's current full-year earnings is $18.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AutoNation's Q1 2026 earnings at $4.78 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.32 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.11 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.41 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $19.62 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $5.54 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $4.58 EPS.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AN. Wall Street Zen raised AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Cfra Research raised AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.75.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AN traded down $1.32 on Friday, reaching $211.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 370,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,802. AutoNation has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $213.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company's stock worth $527,261,000 after acquiring an additional 219,474 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company's stock worth $318,749,000 after acquiring an additional 149,959 shares in the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock worth $248,172,000 after acquiring an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after acquiring an additional 426,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock worth $144,682,000 after acquiring an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.