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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Asbury Automotive Group (ABG - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 15.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Asbury Automotive due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Asbury Q2 Earnings Top ExpectationsAsbury reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $6.82 per share, which declined 8.2% year over year but exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.30 by 8.25%. The bottom-line beat reflected stronger used-vehicle profitability despite weaker new-vehicle margins. Revenues of $4.38 billion rose 0.3% from the prior-year quarter but missed the consensus mark of $4.46 billion by 1.78%.

Revenue MixNew-vehicle revenues increased 1% year over year to $2.33 billion, while used retail revenues declined 3% to $1.09 billion. Wholesale used-vehicle revenues fell 9% to $141.9 million, leaving total used-vehicle revenues down 4% at $1.24 billion.

Parts and service revenues advanced 6% to $634.6 million, while finance and insurance revenues edged up 1% to $183.8 million. The revenue mix shifted modestly toward parts and service, which represented 14.5% of total revenues compared with 13.8% a year earlier.

Vehicle EconomicsNew-vehicle unit sales were nearly flat at 44,245 units. Luxury and import sales increased 6% and 5%, respectively, but domestic unit sales declined 15%. The average new-vehicle selling price rose 2% to $52,666. Despite the pricing gain, new-vehicle gross profit fell 14% to $138.2 million as gross profit per unit declined 13% to $3,124.

Used retail unit sales decreased 9% to 33,098, while the average selling price increased 6% to $33,054. Used retail gross profit rose 6% to $66.2 million, supported by the 16% improvement in gross profit per unit. Wholesale gross profit dropped 54% to $3.1 million.

Parts and service gross profit increased 5% to $374.2 million, making it the company’s largest gross profit contributor. Finance and insurance gross profit rose 2% to $171.4 million, with gross profit per vehicle retailed increasing 6% to $2,216.

Total gross profit was $753.1 million, essentially flat year over year, while gross margin remained at 17.2%.

Same-Store Operations Remain SoftSame-store revenues declined 7% to $3.76 billion, while same-store gross profit decreased 7% to $643.2 million.

New-vehicle unit sales fell 6% to 38,908, and used retail unit sales declined 14% to 28,821.

Same-store new-vehicle gross profit per unit dropped 18% to $2,896. In contrast, used retail gross profit per unit increased 10% to $1,927, and finance and insurance gross profit per vehicle retailed rose 5% to $2,214. Same-store parts and service gross profit declined 1% to $322.8 million.

Other TidbitsSelling, general and administrative expenses rose 7% to $506.4 million. Adjusted SG&A increased 4% to $496.7 million and represented 66% of gross profit, compared with 63.6% in the year-ago quarter.

Income from operations declined 15% to $219.5 million. Adjusted operating margin contracted to 5.3% from 5.8%, while adjusted EBITDA decreased to $234.8 million from $255.8 million. The results reflected higher expenses and weaker new-vehicle economics.

The company generated $305.2 million of adjusted operating cash flow during the first half of 2026 and reported adjusted free cash flow of $188 million. It ended June with $966 million of liquidity and a transaction-adjusted net leverage ratio of 3.4 times.

ABG repurchased about 668,000 shares for $131 million during the quarter. Year to date, it bought back roughly 1.35 million shares for $278 million, leaving approximately $322 million under its authorization.

Asbury Advances Its Tekion RolloutAsbury had converted 70% of its stores to the Tekion dealership management system as of July 28 and expects to complete the rollout in fall. Management noted stronger productivity, customer-pay performance, technician efficiency and sales effectiveness in markets that had used the platform for at least five months.

In June, the Koons, Georgia and Florida stores increased average units per salesperson by 12% and dollars per technician by 10%. Management expects the platform to support better operating efficiency and is targeting same-store adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit in the low-60% range by the end of 2027.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates revision.

The consensus estimate has shifted 5.13% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Asbury Automotive has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

OutlookEstimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Asbury Automotive has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Asbury Automotive Group (ABG - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $6.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.3 per share. This compares to earnings of $7.43 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +8.25%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this auto dealership chain would post earnings of $5.68 per share when it actually produced earnings of $5.37, delivering a surprise of -5.46%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Asbury Automotive, which belongs to the Zacks Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry, posted revenues of $4.38 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.78%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $4.37 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Asbury Automotive shares have lost about 2.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.3%.

What's Next for Asbury Automotive?While Asbury Automotive has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Asbury Automotive was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $6.72 on $4.65 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $26.26 on $17.98 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales is currently in the bottom 24% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 29.

This auto dealership chain is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.38 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -10.6%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.2% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.

Penske Automotive's revenues are expected to be $7.93 billion, up 3.4% from the year-ago quarter.