Lithia Motors (Lithia Motors (LAD)) just gave investors something to cheer about. The auto retailer reported second-quarter 2026 earnings on Wednesday that blew past Wall Street's expectations, sending shares to a fresh 52-week high in premarket trading.

Quarterly Financial Results

Lithia posted earnings of $10.03 per share, easily beating the analyst consensus of $8.78. Revenue came in at $9.791 billion, also topping the $9.634 billion estimate and marking an increase from the $9.583 billion reported in the same quarter last year.

Net income for the quarter reached $261.6 million, up 1.3% from $258.2 million in Q2 2025. However, when you strip out the unrealized gain on an investment in Pinewood Technologies Group PLC and other non-core items, adjusted net income was $227.6 million — a 6% dip from $240.9 million a year ago.

Dividend and Capital Returns

Lithia's board approved a dividend of $0.70 per share for the quarter, payable on August 21 to shareholders of record on August 7. The company also kept busy buying back its own stock, repurchasing about 854,000 shares at a weighted average price of $284. As of June 30, there's still roughly $620 million left under the current buyback authorization.

Executive Commentary

President and CEO Bryan DeBoer said the company saw broad-based growth during the quarter, driven by record revenue, resilient new-vehicle margins, stronger used-vehicle profitability, and sequential improvement in selling, general and administrative expenses. He also highlighted that the Financing Operations segment delivered an 80% increase in income, thanks to higher margins and greater customer penetration.

DeBoer noted that the company continued returning capital to shareholders by increasing its share repurchase authorization by $500 million and buying back nearly 4% of its outstanding shares during the quarter. He said the integrated business model is performing as intended, giving the company solid momentum heading into the second half of the year.

Balance Sheet and Store Operations

Lithia ended the quarter with about $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and available credit. The company also added 5 stores during the quarter, which are expected to generate $340 million in annualized revenues. On the flip side, it divested 3 stores representing $120 million in annualized revenues.

Shares of Lithia Motors were up 4.77% at $375.40 in premarket trading on Wednesday, hitting a new 52-week high.