EchoPark Reports All-Time Record Quarterly Gross Profit, Segment Income, and Adjusted EBITDA*

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 24, 2025-- Sonic Automotive, Inc. (“Sonic Automotive,” “Sonic,” the “Company,” “we” “us” or “our”) (NYSE:SAH), one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Financial Summary

• First quarter record total revenues of $3.7 billion, up 8% year-over-year; total gross profit of $566.4 million, up 6% year-over-year
• Reported net income of $70.6 million, up 68% year-over-year ($2.04 earnings per diluted share, up 70% year-over-year)
  • Reported net income for the first quarter of 2025 includes the effect of a $30.0 million pre-tax gain from cyber insurance proceeds and a $0.2 million pre-tax gain on the sale of real estate, offset partially by a $1.4 million non-cash pre-tax impairment charge, a $1.2 million pre-tax disposition related loss, and a $0.9 million pre-tax charge related to storm damage (collectively, these items are partially offset by a $7.4 million tax expense on the above net benefit)
  • Reported net income for the first quarter of 2024 includes the effect of a $2.2 million pre-tax charge related to accelerated equity compensation vesting, a $1.0 million non-cash pre-tax impairment charge and a $4.2 million pre-tax charge related to the closure of stores in the EchoPark Segment (collectively, these items are partially offset by a $1.9 million tax benefit on the above charges)
  • Excluding these items, adjusted net income^* was $51.3 million, up 8% year-over-year ($1.48 adjusted earnings per diluted share^*, up 9% year-over-year)
• Total reported selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses as a percentage of gross profit of 67.1% (66.0% on a Franchised Dealerships Segment basis, 70.1% on an EchoPark Segment basis, and 112.5% on a Powersports Segment basis)
  • Total adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit^* of 72.1% (71.8% on a Franchised Dealerships Segment basis, 70.4% on an EchoPark Segment basis, and 102.0% on a Powersports Segment basis)
• EchoPark Segment revenues of $559.7 million, flat year-over-year; all-time record quarterly EchoPark Segment total gross profit of $63.9 million, up 21% year-over-year; EchoPark Segment retail used vehicle unit sales volume of 18,798, up 5% year-over-year
• Reported EchoPark Segment income of $10.3 million, as compared to a segment loss of $2.9 million in the prior year period, a 455% improvement year-over-year
  • Adjusted EchoPark Segment income^* of $10.1 million, as compared to $1.3 million in the prior year period, a 677% improvement year-over-year
• All-time record quarterly EchoPark Segment adjusted EBITDA^* of $15.8 million, as compared to $7.3 million adjusted EBITDA^* in the prior year period, up 116% year-over-year,
• Sonic’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on July 15, 2025 to all stockholders of record on June 13, 2025

* Represents a non-GAAP financial measure — please refer to the discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures below.

Commentary

David Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Automotive, stated, “In the first quarter, our team continued to execute at a high level, driving record first quarter consolidated revenues and combined new and used retail unit sales volume, in addition to all-time record quarterly adjusted EBITDA^* in our EchoPark Segment. Going forward, we remain focused on delivering an outstanding experience for our guests and teammates, continuing to grow our EchoPark volume and profitability, gaining market share in our franchised dealerships and powersports segments, and optimizing our expense structure to drive sustained success. Despite uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on pricing, vehicle and parts inventory levels, gross margin, and consumer demand, our entire team remains focused on executing our strategy and continuing to grow our business, in order to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

Jeff Dyke, President of Sonic Automotive, commented, “Our Franchised Dealerships Segment generated first quarter record total revenues, fixed operations gross profit, and F&I gross profit, and continues to execute our operational strategy at a high level. Our EchoPark team did an excellent job in the first quarter, achieving all-time record quarterly gross profit, segment income and adjusted EBITDA^*, capitalizing on seasonal strength and setting the stage for continued operating efficiency going forward. In our Powersports Segment, we are beginning to see the benefits of our investment in modernizing our inventory management and marketing processes, which will be key to success in this segment.”

Heath Byrd, Chief Financial Officer of Sonic Automotive, added, “As of March 31, 2025, we had approximately $430 million in cash and floor plan deposits on hand, with total liquidity of approximately $947 million, before considering unencumbered real estate. In light of uncertainty around the effects that tariffs are expected to have on the automotive industry and our business, we have updated or withdrawn certain items in our previous financial guidance for 2025. Please refer to our updated guidance for 2025 in our investor presentation released this morning. Despite this uncertainty, we remain optimistic about opportunities to strategically deploy our capital to grow our revenue base and enhance shareholder returns, while managing the impact of tariffs on our business.”

First Quarter 2025 Segment Highlights

The financial measures discussed below are results for the first quarter of 2025 with comparisons made to the first quarter of 2024, unless otherwise noted.

• Franchised Dealerships Segment operating results include:
  • Same store revenues up 8%; same store gross profit up 3%
  • Same store retail new vehicle unit sales volume up 10%; same store retail new vehicle gross profit per unit down 17%, to $3,089
  • Same store retail used vehicle unit sales volume down 2%; same store retail used vehicle gross profit per unit down 3%, to $1,555
  • Same store parts, service and collision repair (“Fixed Operations”) gross profit up 7%; same store customer pay gross profit up 2%; same store warranty gross profit up 38%; same store Fixed Operations gross profit margin up 70 basis points, to 50.8%
  • Same store finance and insurance (“F&I”) gross profit up 8%; same store F&I gross profit per retail unit of $2,442, up 4%
  • On a trailing quarter cost of sales basis, the Franchised Dealerships Segment had 51 days’ supply of new vehicle inventory (including in-transit) and 31 days’ supply of used vehicle inventory
• EchoPark Segment operating results include:
  • Revenues of $559.7 million, flat year-over-year; all-time record quarterly gross profit of $63.9 million, up 21%
    • On a same market basis (which excludes closed stores), revenues were up 3% and gross profit was up 19%
  • Retail used vehicle unit sales volume of 18,798, up 5%
    • On a same market basis (which excludes closed stores), retail used vehicle unit sales volume was up 7%
  • All-time record quarterly reported segment income of $10.3 million, all-time record quarterly adjusted segment income^* of $10.1 million, and all-time record quarterly adjusted EBITDA^* of $15.8 million
  • On a trailing quarter cost of sales basis, the EchoPark Segment had 35 days’ supply of used vehicle inventory
• Powersports Segment operating results include:
  • First quarter record revenues of $34.4 million, up 24%; gross profit of $8.5 million, up 9%
  • Segment loss of $3.5 million, a 52% increase from a segment loss of $2.3 million in the prior year period, and adjusted EBITDA loss^* of $0.7 million, a 13% improvement from an adjusted EBITDA loss^* of $0.8 million in the prior year period

* Represents a non-GAAP financial measure — please refer to the discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures below.

Dividend

Sonic’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on July 15, 2025 to all stockholders of record on June 13, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call

Senior management will hold a conference call today at 11:00 A.M. (Eastern). Investor presentation and earnings press release materials will be accessible beginning prior to the conference call on the Company’s website at ir.sonicautomotive.com.

To access the live webcast of the conference call, please go to ir.sonicautomotive.com and select the webcast link at the top of the page. For telephone access to this conference call, please dial (877) 407-8289 (domestic) or +1 (201) 689-8341 (international) and ask to be connected to the Sonic Automotive First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Dial-in access remains available throughout the live call; however, to ensure you are connected for the full call we suggest dialing in at least 10 minutes before the start of the call. A webcast replay will be available following the call for 14 days at ir.sonicautomotive.com.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is on a quest to become the most valuable diversified automotive retail and service brand in America. Our Company culture thrives on creating, innovating, and providing industry-leading guest experiences, driven by strategic investments in technology, teammates, and ideas that ultimately fulfill ownership dreams, enrich lives, and deliver happiness to our guests and teammates. As one of the largest automotive and powersports retailers in America, we are committed to delivering on this goal while pursuing expansive growth and taking progressive measures to be the leader in these categories. Our new platforms, programs, and people are set to drive the next generation of automotive and powersports experiences. More information about Sonic Automotive can be found at www.sonicautomotive.com and ir.sonicautomotive.com.

About EchoPark Automotive

EchoPark Automotive is one of the most comprehensive retailers of nearly new pre-owned vehicles in America today. Our unique business model offers a best-in-class shopping experience and utilizes one of the most innovative technology-enabled sales strategies in our industry. Our approach provides a personalized and proven guest-centric buying process that consistently delivers award-winning guest experiences and superior value to car buyers nationwide, with savings of up to $3,000 versus the competition. Consumers have responded by putting EchoPark among the top national pre-owned vehicle retailers in products, sales, and service, while receiving the 2023 Consumer Satisfaction Award from DealerRater. EchoPark’s mission is in the name: Every Car, Happy Owner. This drives the experience for guests and differentiates EchoPark from the competition. More information about EchoPark Automotive can be found at www.echopark.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Included herein are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements address our future objectives, plans and goals, as well as our intent, beliefs and current expectations regarding future operating performance, results and events, and can generally be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee” and other similar words or phrases. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, and you are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. There are many factors that affect management’s views about future events and trends of the Company’s business. These factors involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from management’s views, including, without limitation, the effects of tariffs on vehicle and parts pricing and supply, the effects of tariffs on consumer demand, economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, supply chain disruptions and manufacturing delays, labor shortages, the impacts of inflation and changes in interest rates, new and used vehicle industry sales volume, future levels of consumer demand for new and used vehicles, anticipated future growth in each of our operating segments, the success of our operational strategies and investment in new technologies, the rate and timing of overall economic expansion or contraction, the integration of acquisitions, cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions to our information systems, and the risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other reports and information filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information, except as required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC. Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this and other documents may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the attached financial tables contain certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules, such as adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per diluted share, adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit, adjusted segment income, and adjusted EBITDA. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the schedules included in this press release. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures improve the transparency of the Company’s disclosures and provide a meaningful presentation of the Company’s results.