Sonic Automotive sees EchoPark growth, luxury demand fueling expansion. November 2, 2026 Key points. * Sonic Automotive reported broad third-quarter operating improvements, including sequential gains in new- and used-vehicle gross profit per unit and F&I profit per unit. EchoPark unit volume rose 22% year over year, although management said it must improve expense leverage to convert growth into stronger margins. * EchoPark expansion is set to resume after the company reduced its footprint to 18 locations. Sonic plans to open an Orlando store in December and add two to four locations next year, supported by improved vehicle sourcing and increasing lease-return supply. * Management remains optimistic about luxury demand and the fourth-quarter selling season, while noting affordability challenges, extended loan terms and negative equity are limiting some buyers. Sonic is also evaluating acquisitions, share repurchases and automation/AI investments as part of its growth and capital-allocation strategy. * MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by December 1st. Sonic Automotive NYSE: SAH said its diversified automotive retail model, including franchised dealerships, EchoPark used-vehicle stores and powersports locations, positions the company to pursue growth while balancing exposure to different market conditions. Speaking at the 50th Annual Automotive Symposium, Danny Wieland, senior vice president of investor relations and financial reporting, said Sonic operates 108 franchised dealership locations and generates roughly $15 billion in annual revenue. The franchised dealership business represents about 80% of revenue, while EchoPark accounts for about 15% and powersports contributes roughly 2%. Within the franchise segment, Wieland said about three-fourths of gross profit comes from parts and service and finance and insurance, or F&I, rather than vehicle sales. He described those businesses as higher-margin and more stable through economic cycles. Sonic also has substantial exposure to luxury brands, with more than 60% of its franchise mix tied to brands including BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover. Third-Quarter trends and fourth-quarter outlook. Wieland said Sonic delivered top-line operational progress in the third quarter. He said the company was the only one among its public franchise peers to increase new-vehicle gross profit per unit, used-vehicle gross profit per unit and F&I profit per unit sequentially from the second quarter. EchoPark's used-vehicle unit volume increased 22% year over year in the third quarter, following 18% growth in the second quarter, according to Wieland. However, he said Sonic sees an opportunity to better leverage its expense base so that demand and revenue growth translate more effectively into profit-margin expansion. Cody Karns, senior manager of investor relations and capital strategy, said management entered the fourth quarter with a positive demand outlook. He said new-vehicle sales were up year over year when excluding approximately 2,200 electric-vehicle sales in the prior-year period that were affected by the expiration of an EV tax credit. Karns said Mercedes and BMW have indicated that incentive spending could increase in the fourth quarter as the manufacturers compete for luxury-market share in the U.S. Sonic has been building vehicle inventory ahead of what it expects to be a strong holiday selling season, he added. Affordability, credit and EV demand. Management said vehicle affordability remains a central industry issue. Wieland cited average new-vehicle selling prices near $50,000 nationally and above $60,000 for Sonic's luxury-heavy mix. Still, he said credit quality and financing availability among consumers actively shopping for vehicles have remained stronger than expected. Discover more MarketBeat All Access Stock Market News Stock Screener Tool Wieland said some potential buyers remain sidelined by negative equity, particularly those who purchased vehicles during the elevated used-car pricing period of 2021 through 2023. At the same time, Sonic has continued to see stable financing penetration, lender participation and attachment rates for F&I products such as extended warranties. The company views a roughly 16 million annualized new-vehicle sales environment as potentially becoming a "new normal," Wieland said, as consumers adjust to high prices by extending loan terms. He noted that more than 70% of new-vehicle loans industrywide have terms of 72 months or longer, while 20% of monthly payments exceed $1,000. On EVs, Karns said they represent about 10% of Sonic's sales mix, reflecting the company's luxury exposure and California presence. EVs have historically weighed on blended gross profit per unit, but he said that pressure has eased as manufacturers better aligned supply with demand. Used EVs were the only vehicle category to experience an increase in wholesale prices during the latest quarter, he said, supported by demand and a growing supply of off-lease vehicles. EchoPark expansion resumes. Sonic is preparing to resume EchoPark expansion after reducing its footprint to 18 locations during a period of constrained nearly-new vehicle supply and elevated used-car prices. Wieland said the company expects EchoPark to operate at a high-70,000 annual unit run rate this year. The company plans to open an EchoPark location in Orlando, Florida, in December and expects to add two to four locations next year. Wieland said EchoPark has improved its sourcing mix to nearly evenly split between auction and non-auction inventory, helping it source more attractively priced, higher-mileage vehicles for affordability-focused customers. EchoPark typically prices vehicles at 90% to 95% of market pricing, management said. Wieland said the strategy has compressed front-end gross profit per unit, which has recently been in the $200 to $300 range, but supports high volume. EchoPark sells approximately 370 to 380 vehicles per rooftop per month, compared with 80 to 85 units at Sonic's franchise dealerships. Management also expects rising lease maturities to support used-vehicle supply. Wieland said lease maturities are expected to increase by about 500,000 units in 2026 and by another roughly 500,000 units next year, though they may not return to pre-pandemic levels of about 4.5 million annual maturities until 2028 or early 2029. Capital allocation and technology investments. Karns said Sonic's capital allocation priorities include dividends, acquisitions and share repurchases. The company pays a dividend yielding about 2.5%, he said, and evaluates acquisitions and buybacks from the same pool of capital. Management said it sees attractive acquisition opportunities in franchised dealerships and powersports. Karns said powersports locations can be acquired for roughly two to four times earnings, while franchised dealership valuations vary by brand category. If Sonic pursues larger acquisitions, share repurchases could take a back seat; if acquisition opportunities do not materialize, the company may return to buying back stock. Wieland also said Sonic is expanding its use of automation and artificial intelligence. Potential applications include back-office workflows, service scheduling, vehicle diagnostics preparation, marketing and managing service-shop capacity. He said the company has already used robotic process automation in back-office processes for about eight years and is testing additional AI-driven tools. About Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH). Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services. Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations. Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Sonic Automotive, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Sonic Automotive wasn't on the list. 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Sonic Automotive reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue of $4.0 billion and record gross profit of $617.5 million. Diluted earnings per share were $1.28, or $1.30 adjusted, said chairman and chief executive officer David Smith. Franchised dealership revenue fell 3% to $3.3 billion, which management blamed partly on an electric-vehicle demand pull-forward in the prior-year quarter. Fixed-operations gross profit rose 2% to a record $265.4 million. EchoPark revenue rose 14% to $596 million, and retail used-vehicle volume climbed 22%. The company plans its largest-ever EchoPark brand investment and will open an Orlando, Florida, location in December. Powersports revenue jumped 35% to a record $113.7 million. The board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable January 15, 2027.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) given new $96.00 price target at Needham & Company LLC. October 30, 2026 Key points. * Needham cut Sonic Automotive's price target from $139 to $96 but maintained a "Buy" rating, implying approximately 51% upside from the stock's $63.48 price. * Analyst sentiment is mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, three Hold, and three Sell, resulting in a consensus "Hold" rating and an $84.75 average price target. * Sonic Automotive's third-quarter results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.66 consensus and revenue of $3.99 billion versus $4.03 billion expected; revenue grew just 0.4% year over year. * MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in November. Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $139.00 to $96.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 51.24% from the stock's current price. Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Sonic Automotive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.75. Sonic Automotive stock up 0.6%. SAH stock opened at $63.48 on Friday. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $68.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.09. Discover more Invest in Stocks Start Investing Stock Screener Tool Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.36). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year. Insider activity. In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 27,756 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.76 per share, with a total value of $1,658,698.56. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 5,149,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,728,203.76. This represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock. Institutional trading of Sonic Automotive. Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $153,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 30.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.5% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Key stories impacting Sonic Automotive. Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week: * Sonic Automotive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable January 15, 2027, to shareholders of record on December 15. The annualized dividend is $1.64 per share, representing an approximately 2.6% yield and signaling continued shareholder returns. * Third-quarter revenue was $3.99 billion, up just 0.4% year over year but slightly below the $4.03 billion analyst consensus. Investors may view the limited growth as evidence of a challenging automotive retail environment. * Adjusted earnings came in at $1.30 per share, missing the $1.66 consensus estimate by $0.36 and declining from $1.41 in the prior-year quarter. The larger-than-expected earnings miss is the main reason the stock has decreased and prompted reports highlighting the post-earnings decline. * Profitability remains relatively thin, with a reported 1.37% net margin. Combined with revenue growth of less than 1% and the earnings decline, this may reinforce concerns about margin pressure and near-term operating performance. About Sonic Automotive. Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services. Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations. Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Sonic Automotive, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Sonic Automotive wasn't on the list. While Sonic Automotive currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. A strong long-term portfolio starts with companies that can survive recessions, inflation, changing consumer habits, and shifting market leadership. This report names seven blue-chip stocks across technology, retail, consumer staples, healthcare, networking, sporting goods, and utilities that offer investors a mix of stability, income, growth, and staying power. Continue following MarketBeat