The six public dealer groups all navigated the same second-quarter scene, including affordability issues and slower fixed-ops growth, but their outcomes were markedly different.
Driving the news: Combined adjusted net income for the retailers was down 11% year-over-year, to $951 million, according to the Q2 2026 Public Dealership Group Trends Report from the Presidio Group.
It showed that each public company reported a lower adjusted net income, but that the level of decline for each varied:
Penske: -5%
Lithia: -6%
AutoNation: -10%
Asbury: -14%
Group 1: -23%
Sonic: -23%
Operating margin was 3.6% for the first half, down from 4.4% a year earlier. The report, however, said 2025's full-year 3.7% is the fairer comparison, since last year's number was skewed by the tariff-driven buying rush.
Either way, margins remain well above 2019's pre-pandemic 3.0%.
Zooming in: George Karolis, president of Presidio, told CDG News that some of that spread comes down to structure, especially since a couple of groups run international businesses or national used-vehicle operations that others don't.
Brand and geography mix also are affecting numbers.
“There's a lot more variation now and focus on brand and geography," Karolis said. "Depending on brand mix or geography mix, specific operating issues aside, that's probably driving results of an individual dealer, group, or dealership vs. when you tie them all together and blend them in average amounts.”
Shaky stabilization: Vehicle margins are stabilizing, but not evenly. New-vehicle gross profit per unit has held steady for three straight quarters, even as it's down 12.3% year-over-year to $3,161.
Used vehicles looked flat at the group level (-0.1% to $1,846), but that number hides a split in the numbers:
Lithia's same-store used GPU rose 20% sequentially, which CEO Bryan DeBoer tied to "our ecosystem, AI and people all working closely together,” according to the report.
Asbury's used volume fell nearly 14% even though its per-unit gross profit rose. CEO Dan Clara said the company began prioritizing volume again in May.
Group 1 started the quarter with just 26 days of used supply and chose not to aggressively replenish it through the auction lanes.
"A couple of the groups were prioritizing volume vs. margin," Karolis said, adding that technology adoption, such as consolidating used-vehicle platforms and common systems across a group's stores, "differentiated some of them as well."
Karolis also noted the used-vehicle acquisition environment itself has gotten tougher, with more competition for auction inventory coming from groups such as Carvana and CarMax.
Disciplined approach: Cost discipline separated the leaders. Group-wide SG&A fell to 69.0% of gross profit, down from 71.6% in the first quarter.
Group 1 cut $50 million in annualized costs and about 700 positions.
Lithia and Asbury both credited new dealership tech (Pinewood.AI, Tekion) for part of the improvement, the report said.
And fixed ops kept growing, but it slowed. Same-store gross profit growth narrowed to 1.6% for the quarter, which Sonic executives called a "wobble," according to the report.
Capital, meanwhile, also moved in different directions. Total liquidity sat at $6.59 billion, down from $7.56 billion at year-end.
Lithia focused on buybacks and a dividend increase.
Group 1 pursued portfolio reshaping, including the planned Hennessy acquisition in Atlanta.
Asbury did more share repurchases, saying it was a better return than most acquisitions.
Changing valuations: Excluding Penske, which has the pending proposal to remove itself from the publics list, the group's average enterprise value/adjusted EBITDA multiple rose from 7.7x as of June 30 to 8.5x as of July 31.
Presidio said that’s a sign the market reacted well to the overall Q2 results.
The move also left the groups’ multiple in line with the six-company average of 8.6x recorded at the end of 2025.
Bottom line: Margins seem to be leveling off, but the stabilization isn’t even across the board when comparing the six publics.
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