DENVER/ATLANTA — February 19, 2025 — The Presidio Group has launched its latest issue of “Presidio Perspectives: A Quarterly Outlook on Auto Retail and M&A Trends,” a publication that chronicles and captures the shifts in dealership performance, auto technology developments, and the dealership M&A market.
This report, which provides a summary of the fourth quarter of 2024, includes Presidio-NCM Average Dealership Performance Benchmark data and the results of our 2024 Year-end Presidio Dealer Direction Survey, both of which point toward growing stabilization of dealership profitability well above pre-pandemic levels. Our survey revealed improved dealer optimism with 65% of respondents saying they expect to maintain or improve profitability in the next 12 months, up from 37% in our 2024 mid-year survey.
As average dealership profitability begins to level out, a new post-pandemic normal is just around the corner.
The normalization process has underscored that brands and geography matter more than ever as some automakers have aligned production, inventory and incentives much better than others. In this report we reflect these changes in the market with upgrades to the blue-sky multiples for Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Mazda as dealers viewed them more positively and their market position strengthened. And, with earnings normalization looking to be at its tail end, we made reductions broadly to our revenue multiplier percentages, a proprietary valuation pillar looking at blue sky as a percentage of revenue.
Among the other highlights in this issue:
- Presidio Director of Research Kevin Tynan analyzes the outlook for structural change in the auto industry in 2025 and takes a closer look at how dealers are positioned to manage declining margins as their automaker partners address overcapacity.
- In our dealership M&A update we estimate that 2024’s dealership buy sell activity will come in around 360 transactions involving 515 dealerships, the fourth busiest year ever for dealership M&A. And 2025 looks to be another active year with Presidio’s deal pipeline more robust than ever before.
- The importance of organizational talent and its impact on dealership valuations comes into focus as our partners at NCM Associates and The Rawls Group share their insights into how strong retention rates and a stable workforce translate to more profitable, sustainable — and valuable — businesses.
- The Auto Retail Technology Snapshot details what investors are looking for from their entrepreneur partners and documents prominent capital raises and acquisitions in the auto tech space.
- With an eye toward disruption, we examine Amazon Autos and highlight potential benefits for dealers who sell vehicles through the world’s largest marketplace.
About The Presidio Group LLC
The Presidio Group was founded in 1998 with the simple mission to relentlessly put the interests of our clients first. By steadfastly adhering to this philosophy, the firm has earned the trust of clients throughout the United States. During their careers, the professionals at Presidio have collectively done more than 280 transactions for nearly $19.0 billion. The Presidio Group, based in Denver and Atlanta, publishes Presidio Perspectives: A Quarterly Outlook on Auto Retail and M&A Trends, a leading source of information about the automotive retail landscape. Presidio Merchant Partners LLC is a subsidiary of The Presidio Group LLC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information on Presidio, visit www.thepresidiogroup.com.
