Last week saw the newest yearly earnings release from AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN), an important milestone in the company's journey to build a stronger business. AutoNation reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of US$27b and statutory earnings per share of US$16.92, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on AutoNation after the latest results.

See our latest analysis for AutoNation

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from AutoNation's ten analysts is for revenues of US$27.3b in 2025. This would reflect a reasonable 2.1% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 4.2% to US$18.47. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$27.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$17.89 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$205, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic AutoNation analyst has a price target of US$240 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$180. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that AutoNation's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.1% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 6.0% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.5% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than AutoNation.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around AutoNation's earnings potential next year. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that AutoNation's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$205, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for AutoNation going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for AutoNation (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you need to be mindful of.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.