Shares of Asbury Automotive Group Inc (NYSE:ABG) are trading at $213.99 each; that's down by more than 3.4% at last check Thursday.

The Duluth, Georgia-based company reported first-quarter earnings per share of $7.21, missing the street view of $7.76 due to a tight inventory market and volume challenges.

Quarterly sales of $4.201 billion missed the street view of $4.264 billion. Revenue, however, increased 17% year over year. Gross profit increased 8% year-over-year to $750 million, while gross margin decreased 158 bps to 17.9%.

"We delivered on our ongoing commitment to profitably grow same store preowned volume by retailing over 2,700 more units sequentially, even in a tight inventory market, and new vehicle profits performed well against brand mix driven volume challenges," said Asbury CEO David Hult.

Asbury said new vehicle unit volume increased by 18%, new vehicle revenue increased by 17%, while new vehicle gross profit decreased by 9%.

Same-store revenue of $3.5 billion decreased 1% year over year, while gross margin decreased 136 bps to 18.1%.

As of March 31, 2024, the company had cash and floor plan offset accounts of $225 million.

The company repurchased approximately 240,000 shares for $50 million during the first quarter of 2024.

"Our results demonstrate how our strategic investments have enabled us to deliver strong results despite challenging market conditions," the CEO added.

Share Repurchases

The company repurchased approximately 240,000 shares for $50 million during the first quarter 2024.

As of March 31, Asbury had $153 million remaining on its share repurchase authorization.

Price Action: ABG shares are trading lower by 3.55% to $213.66 at last check Thursday.

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