Critical Shifts:
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Resilience via Service and Parts: While total revenue saw a slight decline to $7.9 billion, the company achieved record performance in its service and parts segment. Same-store retail automotive service revenue grew by 5%, with related gross profit increasing by 6%, acting as a critical buffer against market volatility.
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Sequential Profitability Growth: Despite a year-over-year decline in net income, Penske demonstrated improved pricing discipline. Gross profit per unit for both new and used retail vehicles saw a sequential increase compared to the previous quarter, rising by $94 and $306 respectively.
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Positive Indicators in Trucking: Although the commercial truck segment faced a difficult comparison to the prior year, strong Class 8 order trends in recent months suggest a recovering freight environment and strengthening demand for the latter half of 2026.
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Penske Automotive Group, Inc., a diversified international transportation services company and automotive/commercial truck retailers, announced financial results for the first quarter of 2026. For the quarter, revenue was $7.9 billion compared to $8.0 billion for the same period in 2025. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $234.5 million compared to $257.7 million for the same period in 2025, and related earnings per share was $3.56 compared to $3.86 for the same period in 2025.
These GAAP results include certain disposals and other charges, as well as the full quarterly results of Penske Motor Group in both periods, which is required by GAAP for common control transactions (see page 14 below). Excluding certain disposals and other charges and a gain on the sale of a dealership in both periods, as reconciled in the attached schedules, adjusted net income decreased 16% to $200.6 million and adjusted earnings per share decreased 15% to $3.05, as a difficult comparison with the prior year period and challenging market conditions impacted year-over-year performance. Foreign currency exchange positively impacted revenue by $227.6 million, net income attributable to common stockholders by $3.4 million, and earnings per share by $0.05.
“In the first quarter of 2026, our business delivered over 126,000 retail automotive and commercial truck units, generated $7.9 billion in revenue and $323.7 million in earnings before taxes,” Chair Roger Penske said on the company’s website. "I was particularly pleased with the sequential increase in new and used vehicle gross profit per unit in our retail automotive business and the continued strength of our service and parts business, which increased retail automotive same-store revenue by 5% and related gross profit by 6%. Further, I am encouraged with the trends we are seeing across the trucking market as the freight environment improves and Class 8 orders were strong in recent months.”
