Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Statement |
|---|
| That trend continued last quarter where we saw the highest credit score of all year |
| We were, I think, going through COVID very optimistic that it was going to be a good higher percentage of our sales than what it currently is today, but we still think it's a very valued tool, and it will continue to be a part of our business and grow over time as consumers get more comfortable with purchasing a vehicle online |
| We have strong convictions for this vision of smart growth |
| So we really think we're in a pretty good space for our new car business, both on gross profit and volume |
| with meaningful growth from M&A and growth within our stores |
| So good progress if we get it through with Tekion, which we believe we are, we're working really well with them and getting a lot done |
| As a reminder, December is a good sales month for us and it has a positive impact on day supply |
| But all 3 of them are significantly above, say, 2019, still very -- again, if you're comparing it to '19, extremely healthy, good gross profits, and they were good numbers overall, just compared to some of their peers in their spaces, meaning domestic, luxury and import, they weren't as good |
| So there's going to be efficiencies in marketing, there's going to be efficiencies in productivity with employees, and there's going to be a better guest experience |
| Finally, Clicklane is progressing well, posting a 32% growth in total retail units year-over-year versus prior year quarter |
| So excited for the future |
| The world has evolved significantly since we initially laid out our vision for growth in December of 2020, and we are very pleased with what we have achieved so far, including $11 billion of acquired revenue and the strategic entry into markets we have circled for many years |
| We were fortunate to make a great acquisition in a great market with an outstanding group of team members and leaders |
| Our new vehicle business generated solid performance |
| We are pleased by the shift we have seen in new vehicle penetration, which grew to 51% of total Clicklane units in the fourth quarter versus 42% in the prior year |
| As we prioritize discipline and balanced capital allocation, being good operators of our business by accelerating same-store growth and seeking opportunities through M&A activity |
| For the quarter, same-store revenue grew 10% in the quarter and 7% for the year |
| And that's why I stated that expect to see -- to have a better first quarter, as I stated on the script |
| These are great affirmations on our journey to be the most guest-centric automotive retailer |
| New units volume grew 7% in the fourth quarter and 3% overall |
| We remain committed and focused on the growth of Clicklane and are excited about the path forward |
| We saw a nice increase in January year-over-year across the company |
| Very good |
| Very good |
| I'll just add that we -- as I stated in my script, that we are very committed to continue to grow Clicklane, happy with what we're seeing |
| We believe in first quarter, we will see an uptick in our business |
| We plan to optimize our portfolio for markets with strong demographics and friendly state franchise laws and assets with quality operators and performance |
| So I don't know what weather is going to be in store for us the rest of the quarter and we certainly had some in January, but we've seen some nice progress in January |
| We're optimistic about the number because some of it was self-inflicted, trying different things on our end |
| For the year, we generated 5% growth in same-store revenue and gross profit, with a full year gross profit margin of 55.3% |
| Statement |
|---|
| Used retail revenue decreased 12% for the quarter and full year as unit volume was down 10% in both the quarter and full year |
| There was -- it was challenging to keep up with the guest experience when we had the lack of availability of parts |
| It's that time of year or 2, and we've got a lot of stores in Denver and Salt Lake, weather is a challenge as well |
| So you're frustrating your guests, you're frustrating your employees, and it's just a painful process to go through |
| We frustrated a lot of our team members in the fourth quarter when you convert software and go through all that and never go smoothly |
| Now that the prices are softening and normalizing a little bit that creates more of a negotiation standpoint, which would certainly challenge Clicklane going forward |
| Stores that went through the conversion brought the company down to flat in the quarter |
| Used retail gross profit per vehicle was $1,666 for the quarter, driven by a constrained environment to cost-effectively source quality vehicles |
| We had a higher days supply in Nissan, so that certainly impacted the margin |
| I expect in '24, it's still to be challenging because there's not a lot of fleet vehicles coming off |
| Naturally, when we acquire or purchase a vehicle, our gross profit is lower than when we take it in trade |
| As you can imagine, the days supply for us looked low in the quarter |
| The deferred revenue headwind of TCA contributed of $142 to the PVR decrease in the same-store F&I PVR number year-over-year |
| That impacted the margin in with Infinity |
| So expect the GPUs to be lower than our ICUs and the ICE and when we're working deals or work in leases, which most of these vehicles are being leased and that puts a little bit of pressure on the OEM or the lender institution from a residual factor, we're having to get pretty aggressive in discount cars much more than we do traditional combustion engines |
| So obviously, there's no news out here, but the EV sales starting to slow down and inventory starting to build |
| Just given the ongoing challenges with the integration, can you discuss what gives you that visibility? And while the comps were negative on the integrated stores, do they improve through the quarter? Have you seen those green shoots yet? Just any color there would be great |
| But quite honestly, we had some impact with parts on OEMs that don't have union issues |
| We're looking at 2024 as a tough year to acquire preowned vehicles with a small pool of lease and rental fleets to from |
| But that slippage relative to where you have been |
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