Lithia & Driveway (LAD) Reports Record Fourth Quarter Revenue of $7.7 billion, 10% Increase

Announces Dividend of $0.50 per Share for Fourth Quarter

MEDFORD, Ore., Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD) today reported the highest fourth quarter revenue in company history.

Fourth quarter 2023 revenue increased 10% to $7.7 billion from $6.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Fourth quarter 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $7.74, a 14% decrease from $9.00 per diluted share reported in the fourth quarter of 2022. Adjusted fourth quarter 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $8.24, a 9% decrease compared to $9.05 per diluted share in the same period of 2022. Unrealized foreign currency gains positively impacted earnings per share by $0.21.

Fourth quarter 2023 net income was $216 million, a 13% decrease compared to net income of $250 million in the same period of 2022. Adjusted fourth quarter 2023 net income was $230 million, a 8% decrease compared to adjusted net income of $251 million for the same period of 2022.

As shown in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, the 2023 fourth quarter adjusted results exclude a $0.50 per diluted share impact resulting from non-core items, specifically acquisition expenses, investment loss, and net loss on sale of stores, partially offset by changes in insurance reserves. The 2022 fourth quarter adjusted results exclude a $0.05 per diluted share net non-core charge related to a net gain on the sale of stores, partially offset by investment loss, acquisition expenses and insurances reserves.

Fourth Quarter-Over-Quarter Comparisons and Fourth Quarter 2023 Performance Highlights:

• Total revenues increased 10%
• New vehicle same store units grew by 9.6 %
• Total vehicle gross profit per unit of $4,973, down $717
• Driveway averaged nearly 2.8 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs) in the quarter
• Driveway Finance Corporation (DFC) originated over $428 million in loans in Q4
• Service, body, and parts revenues increased 14%
• SG&A as a percentage of gross profit was 66.4%, and 65.2% adjusted for non-core items

"2023 completes another successful year of tremendous growth and building strategic diversification. My team and I are excited to turn our efforts to even higher levels of execution in 2024, as we now have all the key components of our long-term growth strategy in place," said Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO. "Our financial position, combined with the diversity and reach of our network and complementary adjacencies, positions us to continue to positively drive results and return capital to our shareholders, providing a distinctive growth strategy."

Full year 2023 revenue increased 10% to a record $31.0 billion from $28.2 billion in 2022.

Full year 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share decreased 18% to $36.29 from $44.17 for 2022. Adjusted net income attributable to LAD per diluted share decreased 17% to $36.86 from $44.42 for 2022. Unrealized foreign currency gains positively impacted earnings per share by $0.14. Full year 2023 net income attributable to LAD decreased 20% to $1.0 billion from $1.3 billion for 2022. Adjusted net income attributable to LAD decreased 19% to $1.0 billion for 2023 from $1.3 billion for 2022.

As shown in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, the 2023 adjusted results exclude a $0.57 per diluted share net non-core charge related to an investment loss, acquisition expenses, and insurance reserves, partially offset by a net gain on sale of stores. The 2022 adjusted results exclude a $0.25 per diluted share impact resulting from non-core items, specifically acquisition expenses, one-time contract buyouts, insurance reserves, and investment loss, partially offset by a net gain on the sale of stores.

Full Year-over-Year and 2023 Operating Highlights:

• Record full year revenues of $31.0 billion
• Used vehicle retail sales increased 1.5%
• F&I per unit decreased 5.1% to $2,090
• Total vehicle gross profit per unit decreased 14.8% to $5,367
• GreenCars MUVs increased by 102% to nearly 900,000
• Driveway Finance Corporation scaled portfolio to over $3 billion

Corporate Development

During the fourth quarter, LAD did not acquire any stores. Year-to-date, we have acquired over $3.8 billion in annualized revenues. Since announcing our plan back in July 2020, we have acquired over $17.7 billion in annualized revenues.

Balance Sheet Update

LAD ended the fourth quarter with approximately $1.7 billion in cash and availability on our revolving lines of credit. In addition, unfinanced real estate could provide additional liquidity of approximately $0.4 billion.

Dividend Payment and Share Repurchases

The Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.50 per share related to fourth quarter 2023 financial results. The dividend is expected to be paid on March 22, 2024 to shareholders of record on March 9, 2024.

During the fourth quarter and for 2023, we repurchased over 142,700 shares at a weighted average price of $240.81. Under the current share repurchase authorization approximately $467.0 million remains available.

Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Updated Presentation

The fourth quarter 2023 conference call may be accessed at 10:00 a.m. ET today by telephone at 877-407-8029. An updated presentation highlighting the fourth quarter 2023 results has been added to our investor relations website. To listen live on our website or for replay, visit investors.lithiadriveway.com and click on quarterly earnings.

About Lithia & Driveway (LAD)

Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD) is one of the largest global automotive retailers providing a wide array of products and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. We offer convenient and hassle-free experiences through our comprehensive network of physical locations, e-commerce platforms, captive finance solutions and other synergistic adjacencies. We deliver consistent, profitable growth in a massive and unconsolidated industry. Our highly diversified and competitively differentiated design provides us the flexibility and scale to pursue our vision to modernize personal transportation solutions wherever, whenever and however consumers desire.

Sites

www.lithia.com

investors.lithiadriveway.com

www.lithiacareers.com

www.driveway.com

www.greencars.com

www.drivewayfinancecorp.com

Lithia & Driveway on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/LithiaMotors

https://www.facebook.com/DrivewayHQ

Lithia & Driveway on Twitter

https://twitter.com/lithiamotors

https://twitter.com/DrivewayHQ

https://twitter.com/GreenCarsHQ

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this presentation, and at times made by our officers and representatives, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "Safe Harbor"provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "project," "outlook," "target," "may," "will," "would," "should," "seek," "expect," "plan," "intend," "forecast," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "likely," "goal," "strategy," "future," "maintain," and "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terms. Examples of forward-looking statements in this presentation include, among others, statements regarding:

• Future market conditions, including anticipated car and other sales levels and the supply of inventory
• Our business strategy and plans, including our achieving our 2025 Plan and related targets
• The growth, expansion, make-up and success of our network, including our finding accretive acquisitions and acquiring additional stores
• Annualized revenues from acquired stores
• The growth and performance of our Driveway e-commerce home solution and Driveway Finance Corporation (DFC), their synergies and other impacts on our business and our ability to meet Driveway and DFC-related targets
• The impact of sustainable vehicles and other market and regulatory changes on our business
• Our capital allocations and uses and levels of capital expenditures in the future
• Expected operating results, such as improved store performance, continued improvement of selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of gross profit and any projections
• Our anticipated financial condition and liquidity, including from our cash and the future availability of our credit facilities, unfinanced real estate and other financing sources
• Our continuing to purchase shares under our share repurchase program
• Our compliance with financial and restrictive covenants in our credit facilities and other debt agreements
• Our programs and initiatives for employee recruitment, training, and retention
• Our strategies and targets for customer retention, growth, market position, operations, financial results and risk management

Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements in this presentation. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimated or projected results include, without limitation:

• Future national and local economic and financial conditions, including as a result of regional or global public health issues, inflation and governmental programs, and spending
• The market for dealerships, including the availability of stores to us for an acceptable price
• Changes in customer demand, our relationship with, and the financial and operational stability of, OEMs and other suppliers
• Changes in the competitive landscape, including through technology and our ability to deliver new products, services and customer experiences and a portfolio of in-demand and available vehicles
• Risks associated with our indebtedness, including available borrowing capacity, interest rates, compliance with financial covenants and ability to refinance or repay indebtedness on favorable terms
• The adequacy of our cash flows and other conditions which may affect our ability to fund capital expenditures, obtain favorable financing and pay our quarterly dividend at planned levels
• Disruptions to our technology network including computer systems, as well as natural events such as severe weather or man-made or other disruptions of our operating systems, facilities or equipment
• Government regulations and legislation
• The risks set forth throughout "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and in "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in "Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this presentation is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This presentation contains non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share, adjusted SG&A as a percentage of revenue and gross profit, adjusted operating margin, adjusted operating profit as a percentage of revenue and gross profit, adjusted pre-tax margin and net profit margin, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, leveraged EBITDA and adjusted total debt. Non-GAAP measures do not have definitions under GAAP and may be defined differently by and not comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. As a result, we review any non-GAAP financial measures in connection with a review of the most directly comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. We caution you not to place undue reliance on such non-GAAP measures, but also to consider them with the most directly comparable GAAP measures. We present cash flows from operations in the attached tables, adjusted to include the change in non-trade floor plan debt to improve the visibility of cash flows related to vehicle financing. As required by SEC rules, we have reconciled these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the attachments to this release. We believe the non-GAAP financial measures we present improve the transparency of our disclosures; provide a meaningful presentation of our results from core business operations, because they exclude items not related to core business operations and other non-cash items; and improve the period-to-period comparability of our results from core business operations. These presentations should not be considered an alternative to GAAP measures.

Selected Financing Operations Financial Information