UPDATE: AutoNation Tops Q4 Views

reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company posted quarterly net income of $116.7 million, or $1.02 per share, compared to $109.4 million, or $0.89 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.02 per share. Its revenue climbed 12% to $5.05 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91 per share on revenue of $4.90 billion. The company's retail new vehicle unit sales rose 11% overall and 9% on a same store basis in the fourth quarter, while retail used vehicle unit sales surged 9% overall and 7% on a same store basis in the same period. For the quarter, domestic segment income gained 28% to $74 million, while import segment income climbed 12% to $71 million. Premium luxury segment income rose 10% to $113 million in the quarter. During 2014, the company repurchased 9.4 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of $485 million. Mr. Jackson said, "We are very pleased with our strong year-over-year growth across all areas of our business, as well as our 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in EPS. This quarter and year we set another record for the highest ever quarterly and annual EPS from continuing operations." The executive added, "We are expecting U.S. industry new vehicle unit sales above 17 million in 2015." AutoNation shares fell 0.47% to close at $59.34 yesterday.