Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.26 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Asbury Automotive Group’s conference call:

• Asbury reported record fourth-quarter results with $4.7 billion revenue, $793 million gross profit, adjusted EPS $6.67 and Adjusted EBITDA $250 million.
• Leverage improved to a 3.2x transaction-adjusted net leverage (better than forecast), management completed divestitures representing ~$750 million of annualized revenue and repurchased $100 million of stock in 2025 while maintaining ~$927 million of liquidity.
• Used operations showed progress—total used gross profit +6% year?over?year and used retail PVRs +18% to $1,749—and parts & service delivered a record Q4 all-store revenue of $658 million, supporting the long-term services thesis.
• The Tekion DMS rollout is expected to drive long-term efficiency but will create near-term headwinds: duplicated DMS costs, implementation and SOX-related expenses will pressure SG&A in the first half of 2026.
• Management expects near-term softness in new-vehicle metrics—SAR may be slightly down and new-vehicle profitability is being “normalized” toward the company’s $2,500–$3,000 PVR range—with first?half 2026 weakness from weather, incentive/tariff uncertainty and high vehicle transaction prices.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG stock traded down $7.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $229.38. 63,333 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,906. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $240.51 and its 200 day moving average is $239.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $309.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after buying an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter worth $265,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 51,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ABG. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $251.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.43.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.