Lithia Expands Presence in Southwest Region, Boosts Share Repurchase

Zacks
05 Mar

Lithia Motors, Inc. LAD acquired Elk Grove Subaru in Elk Grove, CA, to expand its presence in the Sacramento area and strengthen its footprint in the Southwest region.

Per Bryan DeBoer, president and CEO of Lithia, this acquisition enhances the company’s regional presence and aligns with its strategy of growing through partnerships with high-performing brands like Subaru.

The acquisition is expected to generate $100 million in annual revenues, bringing LAD's total year-to-date acquired annualized revenues to $180 million. The transaction was funded using existing on-balance sheet capacity.

Lithia’s strategic acquisitions are significantly increasing its market share and enhancing its portfolio. In 2023, LAD acquired $3.8 billion in annualized revenues. In 2024, it acquired the U.K. car dealership group Pendragon, Carousel Motor Group, Sunrise Group and Woodbridge Hyundai stores and three stores from the Duval Motor Company. Lithia acquired more than $5.9 billion in annualized revenues in 2024. In January 2025, it acquired Stohlman Subaru in Sterling, Virginia, which is expected to add $80 million in annual revenues.

Lithia’s board of directors approved a $350 million increase to its share repurchase authorization, raising the total available for future buybacks to approximately $748 million. Till March 4, 2025, LAD has spent over $71 million to repurchase more than 197,500 shares at an average price of $361 per share, which represents 0.75% of outstanding shares.

LAD’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Lithia carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY, Dana Incorporated DAN and Strattec Security Corporation STRT, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 66.62% and 149.31%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved 15 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DAN’s 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 70.21%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 10 cents each in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRT’s 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 2.61%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 91 cents and $1.06, respectively, in the past 30 days.

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Dana Incorporated (DAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Strattec Security Corporation (STRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (GELYY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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