AutoNation Beats Street; Stock Climbs

Could the auto industry finally be stabilizing? While few would claim AutoNation(AN Quote) to be the sector's bellweather, it is the country's largest retailer of both new and used vehicles, and the 32% drop in first-quarter profit it reported today managed to beat Wall Street's expectations.

The better-than-expected earnings sent shares of AutoNation up 10% to $16.94 in afternoon trading.

AutoNation's results coincided with a report released by J.D. Power and Associates that claimed auto sales will remain at 30-year lows in April, but that the industry as a whole could be stabilizing. J.D. Power, which gathers real-time transaction data from more than 10,000 dealerships across the United States, expects a modest increase in auto sales over the next few months. For the full year the group projects the retail sales to total 8.5 million. ...