Earnings call transcript: Group 1 Automotive beats Q2 2025 forecasts

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI), a prominent player in the Specialty Retail industry with a market capitalization of $5.2 billion, reported strong financial results for the second quarter of 2025, surpassing analyst expectations with an earnings per share (EPS) of $11.52 against a forecast of $10.47. The company also reported record revenue of $5.7 billion, exceeding the forecasted $5.62 billion. Despite this positive performance, the stock saw a slight decline of 0.25% in pre-market trading. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a robust financial health score of "GOOD," suggesting strong fundamental performance.

Key Takeaways

• Group 1 Automotive achieved record quarterly revenues and gross profit.
• The company experienced growth across all U.S. business lines.
• EPS and revenue both exceeded analyst forecasts with notable surprises.
• Market reaction was muted with a slight decline in stock price.
• Restructuring efforts in the UK included significant headcount reductions.

Company Performance

Group 1 Automotive demonstrated robust performance in the second quarter, driven by growth in both new and used vehicle sales in the U.S. The company reported a 4.66% increase in new vehicle units sold and achieved the third-highest quarterly revenue for used vehicles. With a strong revenue growth of 15.13% over the last twelve months and an attractive P/E ratio of 11.37, this growth reflects resilience in the U.S. automotive market, despite macroeconomic challenges in the UK. InvestingPro subscribers can access 8 additional key insights about GPI’s growth trajectory and market position.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $5.7 billion, a record high for the quarter.
• Gross Profit: $936 million, another record achievement.
• Adjusted Net Income: $149.6 million.
• Adjusted Diluted EPS: $11.52, a significant beat over the forecast.

Earnings vs. Forecast

Group 1 Automotive’s EPS of $11.52 outpaced the forecast of $10.47, marking a 10.03% surprise. Revenue also exceeded expectations at $5.7 billion compared to the forecasted $5.62 billion. This marks a strong quarter for the company, continuing a trend of outperformance.

Market Reaction

Despite the positive earnings results, Group 1 Automotive’s stock experienced a slight decrease of 0.25% in pre-market trading, closing at $417.35. This movement contrasts with the broader market trends and might reflect cautious investor sentiment amid restructuring efforts in the UK. Based on InvestingPro’s Fair Value analysis, the stock appears slightly undervalued at current levels, with analyst targets ranging from $401 to $560. The company has also maintained dividend payments for 16 consecutive years, demonstrating consistent shareholder returns.

Outlook & Guidance

Looking forward, Group 1 Automotive remains cautiously optimistic. The company plans to focus on lowering transaction costs and investing in technology and AI to enhance customer experience. Future EPS forecasts for the upcoming quarters remain strong, with expectations of continued growth. Two analysts have recently revised their earnings estimates upward, and InvestingPro data shows the company is expected to maintain profitability this year. For detailed analysis and comprehensive insights, investors can access the full Pro Research Report, available exclusively to InvestingPro subscribers.

Executive Commentary

CEO Daryl Kenningham highlighted the company’s strategic focus on technology and productivity, stating, "Our belief is that in the future, most retailers who can drive scale, productivity, and lower cost per transaction will be the winners." He also emphasized the potential for digital growth in used car sales.

Risks and Challenges

• Macroeconomic pressures in the UK could impact future performance.
• Electric vehicle mandates may alter market dynamics, particularly in the UK.
• Restructuring costs and efforts could affect short-term profitability.
• Supply chain disruptions remain a potential risk.
• Competition in the automotive market continues to be intense.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts raised questions about the impact of electric vehicle mandates and the company’s strategies for improving technician productivity. The company also addressed inquiries about inventory management and gross profit per unit strategies, indicating a focus on maintaining strong financial performance amidst market challenges.

Full transcript - Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) Q2 2025:

Nick, Conference Call Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Group one Automotive’s Second Quarter twenty twenty five Financial Results Conference Call. Please be advised that this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Pete DeLongshaw, Group one’s Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services.

Please go ahead, DeLongshaw.

Pete DeLongshaw, Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services, Group One Automotive: Thank you, Nick. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to today’s call. The earnings release we issued this morning and a related slide presentation that include reconciliations related to the adjusted results we will refer to on this call for comparison purposes have been posted at Group one’s website. Before we begin, I’d like to make some brief remarks about forward looking statements and the use of non GAAP financial measures. Except for historical information mentioned during the conference call, statements made by management of Group one Automotive are forward looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward looking statements involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the company’s actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with pricing, volume, inventory supply, conditions of market, successful integration of acquisitions, and adverse developments in the global economy and resulting impacts on demand for new and used vehicles and related services. Those and other risks are described in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, certain non GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules may be discussed on this call. As required by applicable SEC rules, the company provides reconciliations of any such non GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures on its website.

Participating with me on today’s call, Daryl Kenningham, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Daniel McKenary, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. I’d now like to hand the call over to Daryl.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: Good morning, everyone. Our U. S. Performance was excellent in the second quarter and our UK Team is navigating the integration of operations while growing our business in a challenging UK market backdrop. Our adjusted net income from continuing operations improved 12.4% in the quarter, and EPS improved 17.5% on the same basis.

Starting with our U. S. Business, new car sales were up 6% on a same store basis, outpacing the industry. Our PRUs held up versus the 2024 and they were up $211 sequentially. Our inventories were flat versus the quarter and down nearly 15% compared to the end of twenty twenty four, and day supply is healthy at forty eight days.

Our used car volumes were up nearly 4% year over year and gross profits were up $29 Our F and I performance in the quarter was very solid as well, up $90 per unit. And our after sales business is an area we continue to invest in and believe still has a great deal of opportunity. In the quarter, our aftersales gross profit was up 14.3%. Customer pay revenue was up 13.6% and warranty up 31.9. While we certainly benefited from an easier comp versus the June twenty twenty four CDK event, our aftersales business was strong throughout the quarter.

Our May to date performance saw CP revenues up 10.2% and warranty up 28.7%. And we saw an 8% increase in same store RO count for the quarter. We continue to believe that the potential of the aftersales business warrants additional investment, and we have continued forward on this front. Our flexible scheduling, all day Saturday focus, improving technician productivity give us significant physical capacity to increase after sales business in our existing dealerships. By the end of twenty twenty five, 90% of all group one technicians in The US will work in an air conditioned shop.

It is a boost to productivity, employee retention, and technician safety. We are also evaluating our collision footprint and repurposing capacity as that segment of the industry continues to decline. Lastly, we increased our technician headcount by 6% in The US on a same store basis. We have continued our branding efforts in The U. S.

A number of our dealerships will be rebranded with a Group one name. This project, when combined with our integrated marketing and customer data efforts, will open opportunities across our footprint. It is important to note that we continue to believe that the retail automotive business is a local business and that is where we will put our emphasis. We have learned a great deal about this rebranding from our UK business where all of our dealerships are already branded with the Group one name. There remains movement in the new administration’s policies and uncertainty for U.

S. Trade partners, automotive retailers, OEMs, and consumers. We continue to see demand across all lines of service and are focused on remaining operationally agile. However, we are being somewhat cautious moving forward. Expectations remain that new and used vehicle GPUs could elevate a bit as inventories tighten from imposed tariffs.

We have deferred certain capital expenditure projects and have reevaluated some discretionary spending. We also have contingency plans in place should we see a marked change in the competitive environment. That being said, we are taking advantage of our strengths during this time by refocusing our efforts on improving productivity. We recognize our consumers are under pressure from car prices and other costs, which have outpaced wage growth and higher interest, virtually double the rates we saw just a few years back. I will speak more on these efforts shortly.

Now shifting to our UK business. The UK business was managed well compared to the broader market, which continues to face macroeconomic challenges such as weak economic growth and inflation levels exceeding the Bank of England expectations. We recognize that our customers in The UK share many of the same adverse economic impacts as our US customers. There is also a drag on gross profits due to the BEV mandates in The UK. However, the UK government did announce subsidies of up to £3,750 on BEV vehicles.

This is a great first step. In terms of our costs in The UK, without the benefit of a plate change in the second quarter, our SG and A percentage of gross rose to 84.3%. We also absorbed some new government required costs for insurance and wages. We continue to work on our cost structure in The UK, and Daniel McHenry will have more to discuss on this topic. We are seeing the benefits of continued progress on our process alignment in The UK and cost reductions.

We performed well in used vehicle volumes and we also added 8% more technicians, driving a customer pay increase of nearly 8% in our UK business. Our F and I PRU in The UK was up 27 in the quarter. This quarter, we also marked a major milestone with the opening of our new UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, centrally located with strong transport links and proximity to key OEM partners like Mercedes Benz and the Volkswagen Group. The site reflects our deep commitment to The UK market, our employees, and our manufacturer partners. I am incredibly proud of the work our UK team has done, and we are confident Group one UK is well positioned for long term growth as a leading force in The UK motor trade.

Now shifting to capital allocation. We acquired three dealerships in the quarter, further strengthening our partnership with Mercedes Benz, Lexus, and Acura. These dealerships expand existing footprints in Austin, Texas and Fort Myers, Florida, adding more scale in these proven markets consistent with our cluster strategy. We are consistently balancing acquisitions and dispositions with repurchasing our shares. In the first half of twenty twenty five, we bought back 3% of the company for $167,300,000 We will continue to optimize our portfolios in The US and The UK.

Since the beginning of 2023, we have bought assets generating $5,400,000,000 in annual revenue and disposed of assets generating $1,300,000,000 in revenue. We will continue to be acquisitive, but we are also being very disciplined in valuing acquisitions, engaging only in deals that we feel provide long term value for Group one shareholders. Let me close with a word about the future. Our belief is that in the future, most retailers who can drive scale, productivity, and lower cost per transaction will be the winners. Our customers can no longer simply absorb higher pricing and in turn that will create margin pressure.

We are committed to lowering our transaction costs through productivity gains by increasing our use of technology, first party data, and process improvements throughout our enterprise. We are making investments in technology to improve our customer experience and drive industry leading productivity. We believe artificial intelligence has the capability to improve our business, including elevating the customer experience within the sales and service processes, utilizing robotics to automate operational functions, transaction processing, and analysis. With AI, we can connect with and interact with our customers anytime they want to do business. We are testing some very exciting things, which will help us elevate the customer experience at Group one.

And now, I’d like to turn the call over to our CFO, Daniel McHenry, an operating and financial overview.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: Thank you, Daryl, and good morning, everyone. In the second quarter of twenty twenty five, Group one Automotive reported quarterly record revenues of $5,700,000,000 quarterly record gross profit of $936,000,000 adjusted net income of $149,600,000 and quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $11.52 Starting with our U. S. Operations. Revenue growth on an as reported and same store basis occurred across all lines of business over the comparable prior year quarter.

Notably, parts and service revenues reached a quarterly high, increasing 11.712.8% on an as reported and same store basis respectively over the prior year comparable quarter and F and I revenues reached a quarterly high of $199,000,000 We experienced higher new vehicle units sold in an as reported and same store basis of 4.66% respectively over the comparable prior year quarter. This reflects the resiliency of demand on our operational execution and the value generated from the ability to drive incremental volume through our dealership acquisitions. At the same time volumes increased, we saw prices increased by 1.51% on a reported and same store basis, coupled with a slight decline in GPUs of 0.30.9% respectively. The higher volume more than offset the lower GPUs and contributed to an as reported and same store gross profit increases of 4.35% respectively versus the prior year comparable period. Used vehicle revenues were the third highest quarter on record, and volume in the second quarter was 11 vehicles shy of the quarterly record, growing 2.73.9% on an as reported and same store basis versus the prior year comparable period respectively.

GPUs were also up, increasing $25 and $29 on an as reported and same store basis. Our processes, discipline and use of technology with pricing of used vehicles helped create this gross profit growth, while driving volume against higher prices versus the prior year comparable period. Our second quarter F and I GPUs of $2,465 was just $3 off the quarterly record high and is up $104 and $90 on an as reported and same store basis versus the prior year comparable period respectively. Our performance by our F and I professionals has been outstanding to maintain GPU discipline and drive product penetration. Shifting gears to aftersales.

Aftersales revenues had double digit increases of 11.712.8% on an as reported and same store basis, respectively. These revenue increases coupled by slight margin increases generated growth in gross profit of 13,100,000.0 and 14,300,000.0 on a reported and same store basis, respectively. Same store customer pay and warranty revenues comprised of 72.2 percent of same store after sales revenues for the second quarter versus 69.1% for the prior comparable quarter. Customer pay dollars per RO increased 7.4% over the prior year, reflecting the aging U. S.

Car park and increasing prices partly due to higher prices from tariffs. Warranty work is up for Toyota, BMW, and Honda. Warranty work continues to increase due to the number of new vehicles sold in recent years requiring warranty service and an increase in the warranty recall campaigns by manufacturers. Recent examples include the Tundra and GM engine recalls. Ford recently announced a recall of up to 850,000 vehicles.

Wrapping up The U. S, let’s shift to SG and A. U. S. Adjusted SG and A as a percent of gross profit decreased by two sixty five basis points sequentially to 64.2.

We are seeing the benefits of our refocusing efforts on operational efficiency and resource management to bring these metrics in line with recent historical levels. Turning to The UK, acquisition activity led to a 96.9109.6% increase year over year in revenues and gross profit respectively. We are pleased with double digit growth in gross profit on a same store basis, with used vehicles, parts and service and F and I growing 16%, 1228.7% respectively. Same store retail used vehicle units sold increased over 8% year over year, while GPUs remained relatively flat. Same store wholesale losses per unit improved to $414 from $842 compared to the prior year quarter, respectively.

Aftersales is continuing on a positive growth path, with a 2.4 increase in same store revenues on a constant currency basis and almost 6% increase in same store gross profit on a constant currency basis over the prior year quarter. Same store adjusted SG and A as a percent of gross profit increased two sixteen basis points versus the prior year quarter. However, on a year to date basis, adjusted SG and A as a percent of gross profit was 78.6%, an increase of only 70 basis points. Reported adjusted SG and A as a percent of gross profit was 84.3. However, on a year to date basis, adjusted SG and A as a percent of gross profit was 81%, near the 80% expectation we believe achievable.

Effective April 2025, the UK government increased the national minimum wage for employees and national insurance for employers. This increase resulted in approximately $4,000,000 of additional costs in the second quarter, or 1.9% in additional SG and A as a percent of gross profit. To date, we have removed approximately 800 headcount from The UK business, lowering our overall cost and reducing the exposure to these government imposed increases. We will continue to focus on cost control and business process efficiency as we execute our business integration activities in order to offset some of increases in employee compensation. We incurred $7,600,000 of restructuring costs in quarter two twenty twenty five in relation to our ongoing UEIK restructuring plan.

Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity. Our strong balance sheet, cash flow generation and leverage position will continue to support flexible capital allocation approach. As of June 30, our liquidity of $1,100,000,000 was comprised of accessible cash of $374,000,000 and $739,000,000 available to borrow on our acquisition line. Our rent adjusted leverage ratio is defined by our U. S.

Syndicated credit facility was 2.72 times at the June. Cash flow generation through the 2025 yielded $350,000,000 of adjusted operating cash flow and $267,000,000 of free cash flow after backing out $83,000,000 of capital expenditure. This capital was deployed in the quarter through a combination of acquisitions, share repurchases and dividends, including the acquisition of $330,000,000 in revenues, 45,000,000 repurchasing approximately 115,000 shares at an average price of 3 and $87.39 and $6,500,000 in dividends to our shareholder. As of June 30, approximately 60% of our $5,200,000,000 in floor plan and other debt was fixed, resulting in an annual EPS impact of about $1.31 for every 100 basis points increase in secured overnight funding rate. For detail regarding our financial condition, please refer to the schedules of additional information in our news release as well as our investor presentation posted on our website.

I will now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q and A section. Operator?

Nick, Conference Call Operator: Session. And your first question today will come from Rajat Gupta with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Great. Thanks for taking the questions and good results. I had one question on the new car GPUs, a pretty strong pickup sequentially here in the quarter. Could you give us a sense of how those GPUs progressed through the course of the quarter? Maybe like how was April, May, June before averaging out to the 3,665 that you reported for the quarter?

And I have a quick follow-up. Thanks.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: We can get you a little more detail on that after, but they were fairly strong all quarter. We did not see a spike due to necessarily any change in inventories or any change in manufacturer incentives support or anything like that. Stayed fairly strong through the quarter.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Understood. I just had a couple of clarifications on The UK. It looks like you took up your cost out target there from GBP 22 to GBP 27 for the full year, just comparing the two slide decks. Is that primarily to offset some of the government imposed gross increases or are there like other changes you’re making just in light of just the weak macro backdrop there? And just had one more quick follow-up on UK.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: Rajat, it’s Daniel here. We expanded, I guess, some of our headcount reduction. The headcount reduction now today is the circa 800 people. That’s higher than we initially projected. A couple of reasons for that is that we have decided to close a couple of additional stores that are very close to other stores of the same brand that we have.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: Got it.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Rajat,

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: is Daryl. I just confirmed on the new car PRU in The US, there wasn’t any spike between the months. Was fairly even. April was actually pretty good, but May and June held up very well. So pretty flat through the quarter.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Understood. Thanks for clarifying that quickly. And just lastly, just on the parts and services business in The UK, pretty strong constant currency growth there, 6%. Given the productivity improvements, you’re starting to see at Inchcape, any color you can give us as to the expected run rate here on that into the second half, maybe early next year, is this a sustainable number? Could it accelerate further?

Any color there would be helpful. Thank you.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: We believe there’s more room to run-in the quarter. We added 8% more technicians to our technician base and the increase that we saw in after sales, there was actually a decline in warranty in the quarter in The UK. That was more than offset by a higher increase in CP of 8%. We do have opportunity to increase our customer count, Rajat. A lot of that increase that we saw was per RO dollars.

And so what we are focused on is trying to drive more car count, especially since we have 8% more technicians to be able to accommodate it.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Daniella Hagan with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Daniella Hagan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Good morning. So parts and service tends to be a ballast for group one. You see continued strength, customer pay, margins up, technician headcounts up. But thinking out the next one to three years or so, what are the key puts and takes to think about the top line? You have, on one hand, vehicle unaffordability weighing on SAR, which can increase mileage, create demand for reconditioning, but it also may limit the origination of newer cars that tend to have that stickiness on the service side.

So what are the critical vintages to look out for, how can Group one navigate that period of turbulence?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: A key to growth in the next three years and after sales, Daniela, in The US specifically, is us reaching deeper into the owner base in terms of people who have owned their cars longer. And we have to be able to increase our share of that market. So call it four plus years of ownership And we need to be able to reach into that market deeper, penetrated deeper, increase our penetration there, increase our spend there. Ways to do that are we’re looking at our sure our labor rates are attractive to that customer segment. It’s a sensitive customer segment on pricing, so we have to make sure that we’re attractive.

We have to make sure that we’re not overpriced for what they’re looking for. And then also, the restructuring of our marketing at Group one to where we’re now using first party data. We know more about those customers than we ever have. And so our focus and I think success moving into the years ahead is going to be how do we reach out to those customers who’ve owned their cars longer than three years. And that’s what we’re putting a lot of focus on right now.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: Daniel here, to add to what Daryl says, the average car coming into our store, a twenty twenty two vehicle versus a twenty nineteen vehicle, which is the average age, average model of the inch of a car within our store, It’s over a third higher, the average RO value that we get from that vehicle. So it’s vitally important that we keep those within our ecosystem.

Daniella Hagan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Got it. Makes sense. Second question is around the used business. A large online only retailer, growing volumes 50% year over year in the market. They’re pushing for 3,000,000 used cars sold annually in the next five to ten years.

I know it’s an incredibly fragmented market. How do you view the competition from the likes of these online pure play retailers, and is there a greater opportunity to grow and consolidate in the used business?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: There’s probably opportunity to consolidate, yes, agreed. We try to learn from those online retailers. They’re great competitors, especially in the shopping process. Those are things that we pay attention to and try to learn from. We feel like, at least today, we still have tremendous opportunity to grow our used business inside our footprint of stores today, especially as used car sales become more digital.

There is little as any part of our business today. So we feel like we can still grow inside of our footprint. We have grown if you were to look at our used to new ratio five years ago, it was much less than it is today. We’ve improved our used car performance, but there’s still room to run and I think you’re right. I think those digital retailers are proving that.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Federico Marendi with Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Federico Marendi, Analyst, Bank of America: Good morning, guys. So we’ve heard that OEMs for model year ’26 may take some of the feature that in prior model year were basically standard and put them as optional. So, basically, there would be a higher price to get the same features of last year vehicle. What have you seen on your order sheets so far?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: Federico, this is Daryl Kenningham. They’re just announcing ’26 contenting in some pricing. Some are still waiting to see what happens with the tariffs. I mean, the Japan announcement this week and there’s still not enough specifics around it, I don’t think for the OEMs to make pricing decisions. Then Europe is supposed to be finalized very soon.

What we believe will happen and I think this will absolutely happen, is you will see OEMs play with trim levels, contenting, repricing price walks between grades, things like that to optimize margins and reduce the impact of the tariffs. So what you stated in your question, I think is absolutely true and I think that will happen. Then standard equipment may become optional in the future in order to keep the base car more competitively priced.

Federico Marendi, Analyst, Bank of America: Thank you, Daryl. And my follow-up would be on parts and service. So you did a great job to increase your headcount. So I was wondering, for every 1% of incremental headcount, what’s the translation into earnings or, like, gross profit for for for every technician that you add to your to your headcount, basically?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: Well, we can get you some more detail around it. But generally, at Group one, how we look at a technician, they’re worth about $15,000 in gross profit per month average across our brands. Some brands it’s more, some brands it’s less. But when we can put a technician in stall and have them work for a month, that’s like another $15,000 in gross profit. That’s how we kind of look at our costs.

We look at the cost of not having a technician rather than the cost of what it costs to acquire a technician. And Daniel can give you some more depth on that later today if you like.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Michael Ward with Citi Research. Please go ahead.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Thanks very much. Good morning, everyone.

Jeff Lick, Analyst, Stephens Inc.: How

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: do the BEV mandates in The UK affect

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: your gross?

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: What happens there?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: A lot of the BEV volume, Mike, is going into corporate fleets.

Pete DeLongshaw, Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services, Group One Automotive: If you were

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: to look at the retail mix of the BEV mix and just the straight retail consumer, it is like 10% or 11% of the mix. If you look at it in the corporate fleets, it is much higher than that and it blends out at like 26% today. When we sell cars to the corporate fleets, we still make positive margin on it, but it is less than what we make at retail.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: I see.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: As long as there is all that, it is kind of like in The US when they are putting a lot of beds in rental car service right now, So it is just corporate fleets there and it drives the margin down as a result.

Rajat Gupta, Analyst, JPMorgan: Okay. You made a few more acquisitions in 2Q. What is the environment like out there? Are there big lumpy acquisitions out there? Mean, herb chambers one that Asbury took was a big chunk.

Are there any big acquisition opportunities out there, do you think? Or is it more tuck ins that we are seeing?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: I think as a general statement, I think there will be in the next few years, will be larger ones. Up to right now, the year has been fairly quiet because of the uncertainty. It feels like in the last couple of weeks there is a little more activity. We are starting to see some more inbound here literally in the last few days. We will see if that is a blip or a harbinger of it getting more active.

Will see. I am not sure yet.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Jeff Lick with Stephens Inc. Please go ahead.

Jeff Lick, Analyst, Stephens Inc.: Good morning, guys. Congrats on a great quarter again. So I was just kind of curious, this quarter, the metrics were a little more variable if tried to predict all these. If you look at new gross, new units, service and parts, used, I’m just kind of curious as you which ones surprised you the most? And as we look into Q3 and Q4, which ones kind of are sustainable and kind of predictive for our models and which ones might tail off?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: We were really pleased with the after sales performance in both markets. I cannot tell you that we would expect to maintain what was it, 13% customer pay growth on an ongoing basis. Generally, we plan for mid single digits, maybe high mid single digits on that. I wouldn’t lean on the current after sales growth like it is. You look at the warranty numbers, they won’t be 31% in the quarters ahead, I don’t think.

Might be great if they are, but I wouldn’t plan on it. Think there’s resilience in the and I’ll ask Pete to comment on this, especially on used cars and F and I, but on the new car side, I think there’s resilience in new car margin, Jeff. It’s held up now for a year and doesn’t seem to be weakening and the day supply in total anyway is still reasonable and the OEMs seem to be managing that well. And Pete may have some comments on F and I and used cars in terms of

Pete DeLongshaw, Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services, Group One Automotive: Sure, Jeff, I think that I wouldn’t say that we were surprised. We’ve got our processes in place, the team is in place, and I think we’ve executed on the strategy that we’ve laid out to you over the last few years. So the demand is still there for used, acquisition is very difficult, and we ended the quarter with a thirty one day supply. So we were consistent there. And then I think if you look at, you know, the F and I when whether it’s the revenue that we’re getting from the finance piece of the business and along with our increased margins or increased percentages on product, it turned out to be a great quarter for us.

So I think there’s still demand out there for used and facilitation of finance and insurance.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: Rajat, it’s Daniel. The only thing I would add to our SG and A UK in particular, there wasn’t a plate change month this quarter. So I’d expect SG and A as a percent of gross to come down slightly in quarter three versus quarter two just because of that additional growth.

Jeff Lick, Analyst, Stephens Inc.: And then just a quick follow-up. The lease return issue, obviously, this year, down below $1,000,000 it looks like they’re down 30%, 40% year over year. That should flip depending on what the buyout turn in rate is next year, but it’s going to be up. That should be a good source of traffic. I think, know, necessarily focused on 2026 that much given what’s going on in 2025, but if you could just speak to how do you guys think lease turn in issue, how that plays out and what effect it has in 2026?

Pete DeLongshaw, Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services, Group One Automotive: I think it’s going to be very Jeff, this is Pete. It’s going to it’s difficult to forecast that because you don’t know what the equity situation is going to look like next year. And it could be very good on especially the ICE vehicles. I think the wild card of that is what what the BEV lease returns look like. But, you know, with the situation with acquisition and availability, you know, we’re we are taking as many off lease vehicles as possible, and I think that’ll continue through next year depending on pricing.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from David Whiston with Morningstar. Please go ahead.

David Whiston, Analyst, Morningstar: Thanks. Good morning. I was just curious on the divestiture of those two UK Mercedes stores. Is that more of a geographic reason, a factory reason? Or are you not happy with Mercedes prospects in The UK going forward?

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: We’re very happy with Mercedes Benz in The UK. We’re the largest Mercedes retailer in The UK and we’re happy about that. And we have a terrific relationship with the OEM. There was some in those two cases, those stores were closer to other stores that we owned and just in partnership with the OEM. We closed those consolidated them into another point.

So no dissatisfaction whatsoever from us for Mercedes Benz or their agency model. Daniel may have something.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: Yeah, the one store in particular was only seven miles away from another one of our stores. And we’re actually going to redevelop that store into a larger store in the coming future. So we see some cost benefit from that, and we don’t expect to lose any of our customer base.

David Whiston, Analyst, Morningstar: Okay. And just curious if your Toyota inventory is abnormally too low given any reluctance by them to export vehicles from Japan right now.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: Well, it’s low and basically what we have is Tacomas and Tundras. Would we like a little more? Yeah, we probably would, but we are okay with tight supply at Toyota. That’s for sure.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Ron Juszakow with Guggenheim Securities. Please go ahead.

Ron Juszakow, Analyst, Guggenheim Securities: Yeah. Good morning, team. Yeah. Nice quarter and and thanks for taking my question. On The UK SG and A piece, Daniel, I think you mentioned $4,000,000 of higher costs related to required National Insurance contribution changes.

Was there anything else noteworthy this quarter? Because I know you’ve kind of had this ongoing integration effort post Inkscape and cost savings underway, but dollars were up more than that $4,000,000 sequentially despite lower gross profits.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: When I look at the dollars, I think some of it is January and February is generally a lower cost base. It’s kind of more even in quarter The expectation always was that we would be slightly above 80% SG and A as a percent of gross on the basis on an annualized basis, we expected it to be closer to 80. But there’s nothing really unusual in there apart from the increases in national insurance and national minimum wage.

Ron Juszakow, Analyst, Guggenheim Securities: Okay. No, that’s super helpful. And then on parts and service slack, just kind of if warranty slows, and I understand there are probably structural tailwinds for warranty going forward. But in the event warranty work slows, just trying to stress test our model, are you confident there’s kind of enough built up demand from customer pay to offset if there is a slowdown in warranty work? Or how should we think about the two?

I’m just not sure if you’re wall to wall in your service departments right now or how to think about that.

Daryl Kenningham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Group One Automotive: I don’t think we can cover 31% increase in warranty with CP, but we think there’s still room to improve CP. As we look back on prior quarters where warranty was lower, we were able to deliver CP growth there as well. So I can’t tell you the dollar for dollar, but we certainly think there’s room there. And we generally feel like capacity is the key to driving after sales growth.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: And your next question today will come from Bret Jordan with Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Jeff Lick, Analyst, Stephens Inc.: Hey, good morning guys.

Pete DeLongshaw, Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Financial Services, Group One Automotive: On used GPU, I guess you saw a $29 lift in comp. Does that was that pulled forward or was that was there a demand surge around Liberation Day or do you see GPUs sort of able to stable or expand from here? I think, you know, if you take a look at our trend, it’s been pretty consistent on the used and I would expect that to continue. You know, it’s in the used business, it’s all about the acquisition, and our team’s done a spectacular job of navigating, whether it’s trades, auction purchases, or outside purchases. So I think from a gross profit standpoint, it’s been pretty consistent over the last year.

Okay, and then I guess parts and service, can you sort of carve out how much was the benefit of CDK, know, sort of obviously late in the quarter last year, there was very little parts and service.

Daniel McHenry, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Group One Automotive: For us as a company, I think whenever we made our earnings call last year, we said that the effect of the CDK for parts and service specifically was about $12,000,000 terms of our pre tax income. So I would run that kind of estimate, Brett.

Nick, Conference Call Operator: Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a great day.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.