America's Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) surprised Wall Street this morning with stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The auto retailer banked a first-quarter profit of $7 million, or 60 cents per share, up from 45 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 11% to $83.8 million, buoyed by an 8.5% jump in same-store sales.
Both figures were better than analysts expected, with consensus estimates calling for a profit of 41 cents per share on $78.0 million in revenue. The company added to the glad tidings by reporting that its provision for credit losses dipped to 19.5% of sales, compared to 20.9% in the same quarter last year.
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