Asbury Automotive’s second-quarter net income fell 25% year over year to $115 million, while used-vehicle gross profit per unit rose 16% to $2,002. At 6.39 times forward earnings on Sept. 24, its valuation case depends on whether the Tekion rollout eases cost pressure.
SG&A expenses took 67.2% of gross profit in the quarter (66.0% on an adjusted basis). As of July 28, 70% of stores had switched to Tekion; Asbury incurred $4 million in implementation costs and $1 million in duplicate operating expenses during the quarter. Management expects to complete the rollout in fall 2026; the article says that should eliminate redundant software expenses and unlock store-level efficiencies.
Asbury had $966 million in total liquidity and repurchased about 668,000 shares for $131 million in the second quarter. Year-to-date buybacks totaled 1.35 million shares for $278 million, leaving $322 million under the board authorization. Short interest was 12.47% of the float; the article cites concerns about SG&A inflation, vehicle-price normalization and interest expense.
