What Management Said
Read the full Q1 2026 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 delivered record revenue with adjusted EBITDA exceeding the high end of guidance. First, we continue to gain market share and expand our dealer partner network to a new record.
The combination of expanding our field capacity and penetration of our no reserve offering contributed to our growth. Second, we had another strong quarter of performance in ACV Transport and ACV Capital, along with growing adoption of our value-added dealer solutions. Third, we're gaining traction with our emerging growth initiatives, including the initial launch of VIPER and expanding our TAM into commercial wholesale. While there are crosscurrents in the broader macro environment, ACV remains focused on delivering double-digit revenue growth and increased adjusted EBITDA while continuing to invest in our exciting growth objectives.
We're confident that executing on this profitable growth strategy will create significant long-term shareholder value. Despite these headwinds, Q1 revenue was $204 million and grew 12% year-over-year. Today's discussion will focus on the pillars of our strategy to maximize long-term shareholder value, delivering innovation that is driving growth and scale. On slide seven, I will highlight our growth initiatives in dealer wholesale.
What went well
- ACV delivered record revenue of $204 million, up 12% year-over-year and at the high end of guidance, against a very strong Q1 2025 comparison, while selling 213,000 vehicles and exceeding a difficult prior-year comparison.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $17 million exceeded the high end of guidance and grew 23% year-over-year, reflecting strong unit economics and expense discipline, with adjusted EBITDA per unit up 20% year-over-year and non-GAAP net income of $7 million at the high end of guidance.
- Market share gains accelerated throughout the quarter, with the dealer partner network expanding to a new record and a record number of buyers and sellers transacting on the marketplace; the March conversion rate ran roughly 1,000 basis points above Q4, implying about a 10% unit share gain versus the market for the month.
- ACV Transportation had strong execution with 18% revenue growth and over 120,000 transports delivered, holding transport revenue margin in the low 20s despite a sharp increase in diesel fuel, while ACV Capital delivered 30% year-over-year revenue growth.
- Auction and assurance ARPU of $542 grew 6% year-over-year and 3% quarter-over-quarter, and marketplace services revenue (39% of total) grew 19% year-over-year on strong ACV Transportation and ACV Capital performance.
- The no reserve (guarantee) offering — the fastest growing channel — more than doubled year-over-year at a 100% conversion rate, driving improved marketplace liquidity and remaining accretive to adjusted EBITDA; regional strength was notable with Texas and the Carolinas up 15% and Southern California up 24% year-over-year.
- The board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $100 million, with a planned $50 million accelerated share repurchase, backed by $341 million of cash and cash equivalents against $200 million of debt and solid operating cash flow.
What went wrong
- Severe weather during the quarter drove a mid-single-digit decline in dealer wholesale volumes, hitting the Northeast — ACV's largest markets — hardest and pressuring first-quarter growth.
- Auction and assurance revenue (57% of total) grew only 9% year-over-year against a tough 28% comparison in Q1 2025, reflecting just 3% unit growth in the context of a roughly 5% decline in the dealer wholesale market and a tough 19% unit-growth comparison.
- Non-GAAP cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue rose approximately 300 basis points year-over-year, driven primarily by the higher mix of no reserve sales (which carry modestly higher costs) that more than doubled year-over-year.
- SaaS and data services (4% of total revenue) declined modestly year-over-year, as high-single-digit ACV MAX revenue growth was offset by modest declines in legacy standalone inspection services.
- Management lowered its view of the dealer wholesale market to a mid-single-digit decline for the full year — several hundred basis points worse than originally projected — amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop and cautious dealer and OEM retail conditions.
Guidance Changes
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Q2 2026 | $213M-$217M, growth of 10%-12% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | Q2 2026 | $18M-$20M, reflecting an 8%-9% margin |
| Revenue | FY2026 | Reaffirmed $845M-$855M, growth of 11%-13% (H2 growth expected modestly higher on go-to-market investments) |
| Adjusted EBITDA | FY2026 | Reaffirmed $73M-$77M, growth of approximately 28% year-over-year |
| Cost of revenue (% of revenue) | FY2026 | Expected to be modestly higher than in 2025 |
| Non-GAAP OpEx excluding cost of revenue growth | FY2026 | Expected to grow approximately 8% year-over-year (includes ~$11M additional go-to-market spend) |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | FY2026 | Expected to increase by approximately 100 basis points year-over-year |
| Dealer wholesale market | FY2026 | Now expected to decline in the mid-single digits (updated, several hundred bps worse than prior view) |
Performance Breakdown
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +12% to $204M | Record revenue at the high end of guidance against a very strong Q1 2025 comparison, despite weather-driven dealer wholesale volume declines. |
| Adjusted EBITDA | +23% to $17M | Exceeded the high end of guidance on strong unit economics and expense discipline; adjusted EBITDA per unit up 20% year-over-year. |
| Auction and assurance revenue | +9% (57% of total) | 3% unit growth against a roughly 5% dealer wholesale market decline and a tough 28% growth / 19% unit-growth comparison in Q1 2025. |
| Auction and assurance ARPU | +6% to $542 (+3% QoQ) | Pricing actions and mix, including higher ARPU on no reserve sales. |
| Marketplace services revenue | +19% (39% of total) | Continued strong performance for ACV Transportation and ACV Capital. |
| ACV Transportation revenue | +18% | Strong execution with over 120,000 transports delivered and AI-optimized transport pricing; margin held in the low 20s despite higher diesel fuel. |
| ACV Capital revenue | +30% | Continued strong execution on an expanded go-to-market strategy alongside process enhancements to manage portfolio risk. |
| SaaS and data services revenue | Modest decline (4% of total) | High-single-digit ACV MAX growth offset by modest declines in legacy standalone inspection services. |
| Non-GAAP cost of revenue (% of revenue) | +~300 bps | Higher mix of no reserve sales, which carry modestly higher costs and more than doubled year-over-year but are accretive to adjusted EBITDA. |
| Non-GAAP OpEx excluding cost of revenue (% of revenue) | -~300 bps | Operating leverage in the model while continuing to invest in key growth initiatives. |
| Non-GAAP net income | $7M | At the high end of the guidance range. |
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field capacity and dealer network expansion | Reignited territory manager / VCI hiring in Q4 | Investing in additional field capacity accelerated dealer visits to a company record last month, producing record buyers, sellers, and new visits; adding ~100 inspectors this year (more than halfway there), a one-time upscaling baked into the ~$11M go-to-market spend. | — |
| No reserve / guarantee offering | Fastest growing channel | More than doubled year-over-year at a 100% conversion rate; drives higher ARPU and modestly higher costs but is accretive to adjusted EBITDA (per-unit EBITDA up 20%) given 70% fixed OpEx and full inspection-cost leverage. | — |
| VIPER (service-lane inspection) rollout | Initial launch | Early Access gaining momentum with ~18 units live and ~75 waiting; ~150 planned this year (60-70 more to build) with 2027 as the scale year; last two installs done by ACV inspectors, and integrations underway with service-drive platforms like Tekion and myKaarma. | — |
| Commercial wholesale expansion | Expanding TAM into commercial wholesale | Engaged over a dozen major accounts across captives, banks, fleets, and auto finance; live with one top-four rental company (a second going live in Q2/early Q3), fleet tests going well, and downstream repo/auto-finance customers going live in the next 30-60 days under a land-and-expand model. | — |
| ACV AI product suite | AI-driven next-gen products (ClearCar, ACV MAX) | ClearCar, ACV MAX and VIPER positioning ACV as a partner (not just a competitor) that helps dealers source 10-100 consumer cars/month from the service drive; inspection times cut to under 10-15 minutes for cleaner/harder cars (versus ~30 minutes prior). | — |
| Internal AI efficiency | — | Strong adoption of AI tools across engineering and product teams (using platforms like Claude), pulling Q4 priorities into Q3; signed a major enterprise agreement with one of the largest LLM providers, extending beyond engineering to other operational activities. | — |
| Capital allocation | — | First-ever buyback: board authorized up to $100M, with a planned $50M accelerated share repurchase, funded from $341M cash (including $230M marketplace float) while still expecting to generate free cash flow this year. | — |
| Midterm unit economics target | — | Midterm model targets $230 of adjusted EBITDA per unit at 1.5 million units; two U.S. regions have already achieved or exceeded that target without future OpEx leverage, and the evolving revenue mix is expected to improve unit economics beyond prior expectations. | — |
Q&A Summary
Bob Labick (CJS Securities) asked about progress hiring territory managers and VCIs, noting operations, technology, and SG&A grew slower than sales in the quarter.
George Chamoun said hiring is making great progress with exceptional new territory managers (former GMs and used-car managers) and a rigorous, test-based inspector gating process producing strong talent; Bill Zerella added that the slower cost growth also reflects operating efficiencies flowing through operations costs while continuing to add VCIs and place the right inspectors in the right territories.
Bob Labick (CJS Securities) asked how a market down ~5% affects the go-to-market strategy between winning new rooftops and growing share at existing dealers.
George Chamoun said ACV had its most dealer visits ever last month, plus record sellers, buyers, and new visits — blocking-and-tackling to find business at additional rooftops — while the ACV AI product suite (ClearCar, VIPER) positions ACV as a partner that helps dealers buy 10-100 cars a month from their service drive and local consumers, not just a competitor to the local auction.
Rajat Gupta (JPMorgan) asked why share gains were not higher given strong March conversion trends and tax-season strength, since results came in roughly in line with guidance.
George Chamoun cited the significant Northeast weather impact on ACV's largest markets while other regions grew (Texas and the Carolinas +15%, Southern California +24% year-over-year); Bill Zerella added that the March conversion rate was 1,000 basis points above the full Q4 rate, implying roughly a 10% unit share gain versus the market for the month.
Rajat Gupta (JPMorgan) followed up on why the full-year outlook was reiterated despite lowering the industry market view.
George Chamoun cited three drivers: the field footprint expansion is working, the differentiated ACV AI offering (VIPER, ClearCar) is working, and over a dozen major commercial accounts have raised their hands to work with ACV upstream or downstream — giving confidence to hold objectives even with the market likely several hundred basis points worse than originally projected.
Andrew Boone (Citizens JMP Securities) asked about the VIPER rollout, dealer conversations, and expectations for 2026.
George Chamoun said the hardware, software, and AI capabilities have come together with ecstatic early dealer feedback, but 2026 is not the scale year — only about 150 units will roll out through year-end (avoiding getting over their skis on delivery, install, and support) — with integrations underway with back-end service platforms like Tekion, positioning early 2027 as the production-scale year.
Andrew Boone (Citizens JMP Securities) asked about AI efficiency gains for inspectors in the field and internally within corporate.
George Chamoun said pre-VIPER inspection times are now under 10 minutes for cleaner cars and under 15 minutes for the worst cars (versus ~30 minutes on average prior), with under 10-15 minutes for any car once VIPER scales, and internal engineering/product velocity has surged using platforms like Claude, pulling Q4 priorities into Q3; Bill Zerella added that ACV just signed a major enterprise agreement with one of the largest LLM providers, extending beyond engineering to other operational activities.
Naved Khan (B. Riley Securities) asked what unit growth is embedded in the -5% market outlook (given potential off-lease recovery) and whether ACV is contemplating price increases.
George Chamoun said it is prudent to assume the market stays as-is rather than banking on an off-lease recovery, and ACV takes minor annual price increases to cover inflation and costs; Bill Zerella added that Q1 ARPU grew 6% year-over-year — a reasonable full-year expectation — and that guidance assumes ACV improves its share gains and unit growth over time versus the market, though the company does not guide to unit growth.
John Healy (Northcoast Research) asked about the line of sight to activity with the dozen commercial consignors and what an acceptable capture rate would be.
George Chamoun separated upstream (pure digital, no land — already live with one top-four rental car company and going live with a second in Q2/early Q3, plus two fleet companies whose small tests went extremely well) from downstream (two auto-finance repo customers, one going live in 30-60 days starting with ~20-50 cars/week), describing a land-and-expand plan to sign contracts, prove results in one region, then expand across the country this year.
John Healy (Northcoast Research) followed up to confirm the March ~10% growth figure.
Bill Zerella clarified he meant growth versus the market — ACV's absolute March unit growth versus the declining market implied a roughly 10% share gain, not 10% absolute growth — noting it is never an exact science but gives useful context.
John Babcock (Barclays) asked whether ACV is gaining traction with captive fincos and banks in addition to rental and fleet.
George Chamoun said a couple of OEMs are in significant conversations about a window to sell off-lease cars (not yet signed), another OEM-type is integrated into ACV's flow but not yet auctioning, and on banks/repos ACV already does business with roughly 30%-plus of banks at one location inherited from an acquisition — so it is now about scaling those relationships into new markets like Houston or Chicago.
John Babcock (Barclays) asked why ACV chose to return capital via a buyback now rather than investing more aggressively in growth.
Bill Zerella said the buyback is a reasonable size and good ROI for shareholders given ~$340 million of cash and marketable securities on the balance sheet, leaning in hard with a $50 million ASR while still expecting to generate and grow free cash flow this year, making it the right time and place to launch a buyback.
Jeff Lick (Stephens) asked for an update on the standalone/greenfield commercial sites and which consignor wins are true digital versus using real estate.
George Chamoun reiterated the upstream (no-land) wins — one and soon a second rental car company plus a couple of fleet companies — and the downstream locations working with about 30% of commercial consignors at one existing site, with one greenfield open and one about to open, so the focus is bringing those consignors to new locations.
Jeff Lick (Stephens) pressed for the specific count of physical/real-estate sites.
George Chamoun said 'more to come on this,' declining to give a specific number.
Jeff Lick (Stephens) asked about guarantee (no reserve) penetration and the mechanics of why no reserve sales carry higher costs.
George Chamoun said no reserve carries a small seller fee, no buy-side fee discounting, higher ARPU and higher cost, which shifts revenue margin; Bill Zerella added that adjusted EBITDA per unit rose 20% in Q1 because slightly lower revenue margins are more than offset by OpEx leverage (70% of OpEx is fixed) at a 100% conversion rate, and the midterm model targets $230 of adjusted EBITDA per unit at 1.5 million units — a level two U.S. regions have already achieved or exceeded.
Glenn Shell (Raymond James) asked whether the VCI investment cycle supports VIPER deployment or general growth, and the future pace of VCI investment as VIPER scales.
George Chamoun said VCIs are trained for multiple roles — wholesale inspections, in-person arbitration reinspections (saving prior third-party costs and improving customer satisfaction), auditing ACV Capital, and installing VIPER units (the last two installs were done by ACV inspectors, not R&D); Bill Zerella added that the ~100 inspectors being added this year (more than halfway there) is a one-time upscaling baked into the ~$11 million go-to-market spend, not an ongoing need.
Glenn Shell (Raymond James) asked how many VIPER units are deployed, the monthly install pace, and the size of the dealer backlog.
George Chamoun said about 18 are live with roughly 75 or more waiting, and ACV will build another 60-70 units, prioritizing a few units per large dealer group (two or three, not the five or ten requested) to spread availability, while being transparent that 2027 is the scale year with several units per month to be built.
Gary Prestopino (Barrington Research) asked what dealers specifically do with the VIPER data once it is integrated into their DMS/service systems.
George Chamoun said VIPER produces a full vehicle data profile plus ACV AI price/condition predictions and typical model defects, which flows into the dealer's DMS/service platform (Tekion, myKaarma, CDK) and CRM as a lead used by a BDC, sales team, or AI follow-up bots; at best-performing dealerships five to nine of every 100 repair orders lead to a consumer selling their car — a massive opportunity given over 250 million cars a year go through franchise dealerships.
More on ACV Auctions Inc.
Reported 2026-05-06 · figures from the ACV Auctions Inc. Q1 2026 earnings call.
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