Interim Financial Information (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto, have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that can be expected for a full year and therefore should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited Financial Statements and notes thereto included within the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect the consolidated accounts of the parent company, Group 1 Automotive, Inc., and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. The results of operations of all business combinations completed during the period are included from the effective dates of the closings of the acquisitions. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded an out-of-period adjustment of $10.6 million resulting in an increase to Selling, general and administrative expenses and Additional paid-in capital to correct stock-based compensation for awards granted in prior years to retirement eligible employees not recognized timely due to the incorrect treatment of a non-substantive service condition. The impact to the three months ended June 30, 2020 was a decrease to net income of $9.7 million resulting in a decrease to diluted earnings per common share of $0.53. The effect of this adjustment on any previously reported period was not material based on a quantitative and qualitative evaluation.

Certain prior-period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current-period presentation. Specifically, the long-term liabilities associated with the Company’s interest rate swaps have been reclassified from the caption Other long-term liabilities to the caption Long-term interest rate swap liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. This reclassification had no effect on any subtotal in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Additionally, repayments and borrowings on the Company’s real estate related and other debt have been combined within the captions Repayments on other debt and Borrowings on other debt, respectively, in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Finally, proceeds from purchases under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan and the tax withholdings related to stock-based awards have been separated within the captions Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan and Payments of tax withholding for stock-based awards, respectively, in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The aforementioned reclassifications within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows had no effect on any subtotal in the statements.

Certain amounts in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes may not compute due to rounding. All computations have been calculated using unrounded amounts for all periods presented. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary to fairly state, in all material respects, the Company’s financial position and results of operations for the periods presented.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date and the amounts of revenues and expenses recognized during the reporting period. Management analyzes the Company’s estimates based on historical experience and other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, however actual results could differ materially from such estimates. Significant estimates made in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include, but are not limited to, inventory valuation adjustments, reserves for future chargebacks on finance, insurance and vehicle service contract fees, self-insured property and casualty insurance exposure, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the valuation of goodwill and intangible franchise rights and reserves for potential litigation. Additionally, while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated, the Company has made accounting estimates based on the facts and circumstances available as of the reporting date.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Reference Rate Reform

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The ASU provides optional expedients and exceptions for companies that have contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference LIBOR or other reference rates expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The optional expedients and exceptions apply during the transition period and are intended to ease the financial reporting burdens mainly related to contract modification accounting, hedge accounting and lease accounting. The transition period is effective as of March 12, 2020 and will apply through December 31, 2022. LIBOR is used as an interest rate “benchmark” in the majority of the Company’s floorplan notes payable, as well as its mortgages, other debt and lease contracts. Additionally, the Company’s derivative instruments are benchmarked to LIBOR. The Company will apply the relief described as its arrangements are modified and does not expect the adoption will have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements due to the relief provided.

Impairments

Impairments

The Company evaluates its intangible assets, consisting entirely of indefinite-lived franchise rights and goodwill, for impairment annually, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate possible impairment. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded goodwill impairment charges of $10.7 million within the Brazil reporting unit and franchise rights impairment charges of $11.1 million within the U.K segment and $0.1 million within the Brazil segment. Refer to Note 8 “Intangibles” for additional discussion of the Company’s interim impairment assessment.

The Company also reviews long-lived assets that are held-for-use, including the Company’s property and equipment and ROU assets, for impairment at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows whenever there are indicators that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Company recognized ROU asset impairment charges of $1.7 million relating to seven dealerships within the U.K. segment and $0.2 million relating to one dealership within the Brazil segment.

The impairment charges were recognized within Asset impairments in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Fair Value Measurement

Accounting standards define fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Accounting standards establish a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value and also establishes the following three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

• Level 1 — Quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

• Level 2 — Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or model-derived valuations or other inputs that are observable or that can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

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Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company’s interest rate swaps are measured at fair value utilizing the option-pricing Black-Scholes present value technique. This technique utilizes a one-month LIBOR forward yield curve matched to the identical maturity term of the instrument being measured. Observable inputs utilized in the income approach valuation technique incorporate identical contractual notional amounts, fixed coupon rates, periodic terms for interest payments and contract maturity. The fair value of the interest rate swaps also considers the credit risk of the Company for instruments in a liability position or the counterparty for instruments in an asset position. The credit risk is calculated using the spread between the one-month LIBOR yield curve and the relevant interest rate according to rating agencies. The inputs to the fair value measurements reflect Level 2 inputs.