What Management Said
Read the full Q4 2025 transcript ↗Before we get started, please note that today's comments include forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future financial guidance. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is provided in today's earnings materials, which can also be found on our investor relations website. We are pleased with the ACV team's execution in Q4, delivering revenue at the high end of guidance and Adjusted EBITDA above the high end. Turning to 2026, we are expecting revenue growth in the low double digits and Adjusted EBITDA growth of approximately 28%, which includes additional growth investments to support our medium-term financial targets.
We're confident that executing on this profitable growth strategy will create significant long-term shareholder value. For the full year, we delivered 19% revenue growth and grew units by over 86,000, or 12% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA grew by over 100%, demonstrating the scale in our model. Next, on slide five, we'll again focus our discussion around the three pillars of our strategy to maximize long-term shareholder value: growth, innovation, and scale.
On slide seven, we highlight how ACV is leveraging AI to attract new buyers and sellers, increase penetration and wallet share, and gain traction with large dealer groups. Our highly accurate, condition-adjusted pricing guidance enabled sellers to set more informed reserve prices. Our franchise rooftop penetration achieved a new milestone, reaching 35% during the year, and our major account team delivered impressive results with a 300 basis point increase in rooftop penetration. ClearCar is also an effective lever to increase wholesale wallet share and attract new dealers to our marketplace.
What went well
- ACV delivered Q4 revenue of $184 million, up 15% year-over-year against a very strong Q4 2024 comparison, landing at the high end of guidance, while selling 193,000 vehicles in the quarter; for full-year 2025 the company posted 19% revenue growth and grew units by over 86,000, or 12% year-over-year.
- Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $8 million grew 36% year-over-year and came in above the high end of guidance on strong expense discipline, and full-year Adjusted EBITDA grew by over 100%, demonstrating the scale in the model; non-GAAP net loss of $1 million was favorable relative to the guidance range.
- ACV Transportation had strong execution with 20% revenue growth and 110,000 transports delivered in Q4, and its revenue margin has already reached the midterm target in the low 20s, driven by AI-optimized pricing and off-platform transportation traction.
- ACV Capital delivered strong revenue performance with 48% year-over-year growth in Q4, achieved even while actively lowering exposure to higher-risk customer segments and implementing process enhancements to mitigate portfolio risk.
- Auction and assurance ARPU rose to $528, up 6% year-over-year and 4% quarter-over-quarter, and marketplace services revenue (39% of total) grew 23% year-over-year on ACV Transportation and ACV Capital strength.
- Share gains continued: franchise rooftop penetration reached a new milestone of 35% during the year, the major account team drove a 300 basis point increase in rooftop penetration, 15,000 unique sellers and over 22,000 unique buyers transacted in 2025, Q4 conversion rate rose year-over-year (sell-through up 150 bps) while competitors were flat or down, and ACV Guarantee mix increased to 19% in Q4.
- Product momentum built across the roadmap: existing dealers that launched ClearCar grew wholesale volumes at ACV by over 50% after going live, a recent cohort of new ACV MAX dealers grew wholesale vehicle sales by an average of 40% within one quarter, and the VIPER Early Access Program drew tremendous NADA reception with over 200 dealer hand-raisers.
What went wrong
- Q4 unit growth decelerated to just 5% in the auction and assurance business against a very tough comparison of 27% growth in Q4 2024, reflecting challenging market conditions in dealer wholesale.
- Non-GAAP cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue increased approximately 400 basis points year-over-year, primarily driven by higher arbitration costs (as expected) within a specific cohort of customers, prompting litigation steps and the removal of some bad-actor sellers in November and December.
- Market conditions were soft: January 2026 dealer wholesale was down 6.5% per AAA amid weather effects, and management continues to assume the dealer wholesale market stays roughly flat for 2026, with initial FY2026 revenue guidance of only low-double-digit (11%-13%) growth.
- FY2026 incremental margins are lower than the prior year because of about $11 million of additional go-to-market spending (inspectors and territory managers) plus VIPER rollout investment (high-single-digit millions of CapEx), with combined incremental investment approaching $20 million; management concedes market-share benefits will only show up more in the back half of the year.
- Auction and assurance revenue (55% of total) grew 11% year-over-year against a very tough comparison of 40% growth in Q4 2024, and SaaS and data services remained a small 5% of total revenue despite accelerating to 8% growth.
Guidance Changes
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Q1 2026 | $200M-$204M, growth of 9%-12% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | Q1 2026 | $14M-$16M, reflecting a 7%-8% margin |
| Revenue | FY2026 | $845M-$855M, growth of 11%-13% (low double digits), assuming go-to-market investments drive slightly higher growth in the second half |
| Adjusted EBITDA | FY2026 | $73M-$77M, growth of approximately 28% year-over-year |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | FY2026 | Expected to increase by approximately 100 basis points year-over-year, even with growth investments |
| Non-GAAP OpEx (excl. cost of revenue) growth | FY2026 | Approximately 9% year-over-year, including ~$11M additional go-to-market spending |
| Auction & assurance ARPU | FY2026 | Modeled roughly flat to up very modestly from $528 |
Performance Breakdown
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | +15% to $184M (Q4); +19% (FY) | Solid execution in dealer wholesale despite challenging market conditions, plus strong ACV Transportation and ACV Capital performance; landed at the high end of guidance against a very strong Q4 2024. |
| Units sold | 193,000 (Q4); +12% / +86,000 (FY) | Continued market-share gains and dealer network expansion, though Q4 faced a tougher year-over-year comparison. |
| Adjusted EBITDA | +36% to $8M (Q4); +100%+ (FY) | Strong expense discipline and operating leverage in the model; exceeded the high end of the guidance range. |
| Auction & assurance revenue | +11% (55% of total) | 5% unit growth against a very tough comparison of 27% unit growth and 40% revenue growth in Q4 2024. |
| Auction & assurance ARPU | +6% to $528 (+4% QoQ) | Bounced back from $508 in Q3 (and $523 in Q2); revenue per unit held up healthy despite competition and prior-quarter seller incentives. |
| Marketplace services revenue | +23% (39% of total) | Continued strong performance from ACV Transportation and ACV Capital. |
| SaaS & data services revenue | +8% (5% of total) | Year-over-year growth accelerated, supported by ClearCar and ACV MAX traction. |
| ACV Transportation revenue | +20% (110,000 transports) | AI-optimized pricing drove growth and operating efficiency; revenue margin reached the midterm target in the low 20s, with off-platform service gaining traction. |
| ACV Capital revenue | +48% | New growth strategies and process enhancements, achieved while actively reducing exposure to higher-risk customer segments. |
| Non-GAAP cost of revenue (% of revenue) | +~400 bps | Primarily higher arbitration costs within a specific customer cohort, expected to normalize in 2026 after litigation steps. |
| Non-GAAP OpEx excl. cost of revenue (% of revenue) | -~400 bps | Operating leverage in the model. |
| Sell-through / conversion rate | +150 bps | Growth of the guarantee/no-reserve offering, stricter marketplace rules removing overpriced-car sellers, and improving buyer NPS lifted conversion while competitors were flat or down. |
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACV Guarantee / no-reserve auctions | Fastest-growing channel; incentivizing power sellers to try guarantee | Guarantee mix rose to 19% of units in Q4 (already in the ~20% range early in Q1), delivering a 100% conversion rate; management would be ecstatic to reach the mid-20% range in 2026, with a halo effect drawing over 10 bidders per car (up from 9.8). | — |
| VIPER consumer-sourcing platform | In development | Commercial launch kicking off with select partners at ~5-10 units per month, targeting 100-200 units in the field this year (200+ hand-raisers already); goal is to scale early next year once it proves it helps dealers buy more cars, produce retail photos faster, and grow service revenue (e.g., predicting tire depth at >90% confidence); ~high-single-digit millions of incremental CapEx. | — |
| Regional / footprint expansion | Q3: identified emerging regions needing more territory managers and VCI footprint | Hiring and training of inspectors and territory managers began in Q4 and continues through 2026 (20-30 in training now), targeting the desired national footprint by end of Q3; ~$11M incremental go-to-market spend, with regions like the Carolinas, South Florida, Southern California, and East Texas showing strong Q4 unit growth. | — |
| AI as differentiator and disruption risk | — | Management positions ACV as the AI disruptor in automotive, predicting retail price within $38 and wholesale value within $100 (backed by guarantee), leveraging proprietary data from over 1 million cars inspected per year and bidirectional DMS integration; argues new startups would need hundreds of millions to billions plus the data to compete. | — |
| Arbitration and marketplace governance | Elevated arbitration costs in a specific cohort | Moved out bad actors in Nov/Dec 2025, implemented litigation steps and stricter platform policies already showing positive returns in early 2026; expanding inspector headcount will validate arbitration claims by putting ACV's own eyes on cars, speeding resolution. | — |
| Dealer wholesale market and digital penetration | Prudent to assume market flat in 2026 (November view) | View unchanged at flattish for 2026 despite January dealer wholesale down 6.5%; ~70% of dealer wholesale still happens at physical auctions (only ~30% moved to digital), leaving a long runway, with potential tailwinds from tax refunds and off-lease supply. | — |
| Commercial wholesale strategy | Building capabilities | First greenfield remarketing center live in Houston, powering an end-to-end digital commercial vehicle remarketing model, with an additional greenfield location planned for Chicago this year. | — |
| Helping dealers run their business better / new business model | — | Service-drive acquisition scaling (some rooftops buying 4%-10% of repair orders, one buying 150+ cars/month), with a future VIPER model (details mid-2026) built on a several-thousand-dollar monthly subscription plus a wholesale-volume rebate — a win-win whether revenue comes as SaaS or wholesale (potential 20%-30%+ TAM expansion per rooftop). | — |
Q&A Summary
Andrew Boone (Citizens JMP) asked what drove the Q4 2025 deceleration in units sold — competition, market, or macro — and about the roadmap to drive broader ACV MAX adoption.
George Chamoun said Q4 faced a tougher comparison while the company still delivered on revenue and grew full-year units 12%; growth levers include adding field inspectors, more territory managers in select regions, and product differentiation, noting 70% of dealer wholesale still happens at physical auctions. On ACV MAX, he said the business is scaling as it connects more to wholesale, with some rooftops now getting a guarantee added on units, and he looks forward to scaling MAX further through the year.
Rajat Gupta (JPMorgan) asked why 2026 guidance implies little change in market-share growth despite lower incremental margins, and about AI risk to the business, competitive dynamics, and the threat of new startups.
George Chamoun cited investments in field inspectors, territory managers, and the VIPER rollout that will impact more in the back half. William Zerella said the ~$11M incremental go-to-market spend explains the lower incrementals — excluding it they would have grown to 25%-30% — and that guidance is conservative until investments pay off, assuming a slight second-half increase. On AI, Chamoun argued ACV is the disruptor (predicting retail price within $38, wholesale within $100), and that startups would need hundreds of millions to billions plus the data and credibility ACV has built inspecting over 1 million cars a year.
Ronald Josey (Citi) asked whether conversion rates returned to normal seasonality and what drove outsized unit growth in regions like the Carolinas, South Florida, Southern California, and East Texas.
George Chamoun said Q4 conversion rate rose year-over-year (while competitors were flat or down), helped by the guarantee/no-reserve offering, stricter rules removing overpriced-car sellers, and improving buyer NPS. William Zerella noted sell-through was up 150 bps year-on-year. Chamoun attributed regional gains to strong talent moves (e.g., promoting a New York-metro territory manager to regional director in the Carolinas), added territory managers and inspectors, and leveraging inspectors on the demand side.
Bob Labick (CJS Securities) asked about the VIPER rollout timing and key metrics to watch before a wider launch, and whether there is a natural ceiling for no-reserve auctions as a percent of volume.
George Chamoun said the number-one VIPER priority is helping dealers acquire more vehicles (a key KPI), citing a dealer who wants to retail 100 more used cars a month (implying buying ~125-130), framing it as rooftop-level TAM expansion. On no-reserve, he said he'd be ecstatic to hit the mid-20% range in 2026, noting not every car should run no-reserve but a halo effect is drawing over 10 bidders per car and improving data-science predictions.
Chris Pierce (Needham & Company) asked whether the flat auction-marketplace revenue per unit and prior-quarter power-seller incentives represent a new normal, and whether his multi-year view of a winner-take-most digital wholesale market should shift toward a duopoly.
George Chamoun said revenue per unit in Q4 was healthy and should not be viewed as temporary, and he does not anticipate ARPU going down meaningfully. William Zerella noted ARPU declined from $523 in Q2 to $508 in Q3 then rebounded to $528 in Q4, and guidance models it roughly flat to modestly up in 2026. Chamoun said ACV will focus on being the leader with the most differentiated offering, but acknowledged there may be room for a couple of winners since only ~30% of the industry has moved to digital.
Eric Sheridan (Goldman Sachs) asked how to think about investments to deepen footprint reach in 2026 and for an update on Project VIPER's technology and rollout.
George Chamoun said the company is hiring and training inspectors (20-30 in training) to hit its national footprint goal by around end of Q3, and on VIPER is deploying about 5-10 units a month now, targeting north of 100 (maybe up to 200) in the field this year with 200+ hand-raisers, watching whether it helps dealers buy more cars, produce retail photos faster, and grow service revenue (e.g., >90% confidence on tire depth). William Zerella added the VIPER investment flows mostly as CapEx (high-single-digit millions), bringing combined incremental investment with go-to-market to approaching $20 million.
Naved Khan (B. Riley Securities) asked whether the view of a flat 2026 wholesale market had changed since November, and what the drivers are to bring arbitration expense down.
George Chamoun said the flattish market view is unchanged despite January dealer wholesale being down 6.5% (with weather), citing potential tailwinds from tax refunds and off-lease supply. On arbitration, he said moving out bad actors in November and December and better platform governance are playing out well and he feels good about Q1. William Zerella added that the expanded inspector headcount will be leveraged to validate arbitration claims, and Chamoun noted this recently-piloted approach of putting ACV's own eyes on cars speeds claims and helps good actors.
Jeff Lick (Stephens) asked about early returns from using VIPER to boost service-lane attachment and upsell, who owns the scan data, private-label/intra-dealer auctions, and the potential to charge recurring revenue not tied to auction volume.
George Chamoun said service-drive acquisition is scaling (some rooftops buying 4%-10% of repair orders, i.e., 40-100+ cars a month, one over 150), and adding a guarantee on cars helps dealers buy without feeling they're taking a risk; the challenge is scaling from dozens to thousands of rooftops. He said the data belongs to the dealer, with ACV having rights to use it in aggregated form. On the model (details mid-2026), he said it will be both — a several-thousand-dollar monthly subscription plus a rebate tied to wholesale volume — a win-win that could add 20%-30%+ TAM expansion per rooftop.
Gary Prestopino (Barrington Research) asked whether hitting the reserve triggers an influx of bidding like classic-car auctions, and how VIPER overcomes a car owner's reticence to trust dealership-generated data.
George Chamoun confirmed dealers invest their time once they know a car is truly for sale, so ACV's no-reserve sale sees the highest bid activity in the industry. On trust, he said ACV walks in with credibility from proven results — retail-price predictions within $38 over recent quarters and wholesale predictions within $100 — built through learning across ACV MAX and ACV Auctions, acknowledging there will still be a transitory process to earn end-customer trust.
More on ACV Auctions Inc.
Reported 2026-02-23 · figures from the ACV Auctions Inc. Q4 2025 earnings call.
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