Penske Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:PAG) missed Wall Street’s third-quarter 2026 earnings estimates on Wednesday, even as revenue rose 4.5%, driven by strong growth in its commercial truck business.
Q3 2026 Earnings and Revenue Performance
The automotive retailer reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $220.8 million, or $3.36 per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $224.8 million, or $3.41 per share, a year earlier.
Earnings missed analysts’ expectations of $3.42 per share by 6 cents.
Revenue increased 4.5% to $8.42 billion from $8.05 billion a year earlier, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $8.17 billion.
The results included $6.3 million in costs associated with the company’s proposed take-private transaction, reducing earnings by 7 cents per share.
Income before taxes slipped to $302 million from $304 million a year earlier, while operating income declined 2.5% to $303.1 million.
Retail Automotive Sales and Profit Margins
Penske’s retail automotive business generated $7.03 billion in revenue, up 1.4% from a year earlier. Same-store automotive revenue increased 1.9%, supported by higher used-vehicle sales and growth in service and parts operations.
New-vehicle deliveries declined 1.6% to 64,789 units, while used-vehicle deliveries rose 2.1% to 57,635 units. Profit margins remained under pressure, with gross profit per new vehicle, excluding agency sales, falling 2.5% and gross profit per used vehicle declining 6.6%.
Commercial Truck Business Growth
The company’s commercial truck dealership operations delivered stronger growth, with revenue climbing 22.3% to $1.12 billion from $918.6 million a year earlier. New and used truck sales increased 32.7% to 6,779 units, while pretax income for the segment rose to $59.6 million from $41.5 million.
Penske also recorded $68.5 million in earnings from its investment in Penske Transportation Solutions, in which it holds a 28.9% ownership stake.
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Nine-Month 2026 Financial Results
For the first nine months of 2026, Penske reported revenue of $24.79 billion, up 3.1% from the same period last year. Net income attributable to common stockholders declined to $715.7 million, or $10.89 per share, from $749.1 million, or $11.30 per share.
$16.3 Billion Take-Private Deal
The earnings report comes as Penske moves forward with a previously announced agreement to go private in a transaction valued at approximately $16.3 billion, including debt. Under the agreement, shareholders outside the acquiring investor group would receive $212 per share in cash.
The transaction, involving Penske Corp. and Mitsui & Co., is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions. Upon completion, Penske Corp. would hold approximately 64% of the company, with Mitsui owning the remaining 36%.
Penske said it would not hold a quarterly earnings conference call because of the pending transaction.
Quarterly Dividend Increase
The company also announced a 1.4% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.46 per share, payable Dec. 1 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 13.
Penske Automotive Group, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.
PAG Price Action: Penske Automotive shares were unchanged at $212.15 in premarket trading Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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