RV dealer group Camping World’s finance and insurance revenue fell sequentially but rose year over year in the third quarter while new and used unit sales were mixed and average selling prices inched down.
The Lincolnshire, Illinois-based dealer group’s finance and insurance (F&I) revenue totaled $166.3 million, down 7.1% sequentially but up 1.6% YoY, according to the company’s 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission published Oct. 28.
Average F&I gross profit per unit was $4,889 in Q3, up 3.2% quarter over quarter but down 3.4% YoY, according to the filing.
Camping World’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Kirn joined today’s earnings call for the first time after stepping into the role in July.
“Tom has done a nice job of pointing out deficiencies that we have. Whether that was in the $25,000 to $30,000 travel trailer, every single segment is getting analyzed to see, where do we gain market share and where do we lose market share,” Chief Executive Marcus Lemonis said on the call.
The team’s approach, he added, differs from other strategies in the RV industry.
“A lot of people look at [the business] holistically,” Lemonis said. “We go all the way down to floorplan, type code, price point and segment. Having a finance team partner with the inventory team has really shown us where there is opportunity in [2025] to give us the confidence for a modest increase, which is stacked on top of year after year of growth.”
New unit sales up, ASP down
Unit sales were mixed on new and used RVs while average selling prices (ASP) dipped for both.
“The silver lining in a rate cut is that, because our customers are payment sensitive, and price and rate are the two inputs, a reduction in rate could allow the ASP to go up slightly,” Lemonis said. “When we look at gross profit per unit in raw dollars, not percentages, any increase in ASP, even $1,000, is incremental gross profit on a per-unit basis that we have been missing for the last 15 to 18 months.”
Camping World’s unit sales on new RVs fell 9.7% QoQ but landed 31.2% higher on a YoY basis at 19,943 units in Q3, according to the filing, which noted that the new-RV ASP hit $41,364, up 7.8% sequentially but down 7.4% YoY.
The ASP on new-RV units was driven down by “lower cost of 2024 model year travel trailers and discounting of pre-2024 model year new vehicles,” according to the filing.
Third-quarter sales of used RVs totaled 14,065 units, down 15.4% QoQ and 17.9% YoY, according to the filing. The used-RV ASP was $31,798 in Q3, up 3.8% QoQ but down 7.7% YoY.
Floorplan interest elevated YoY
The dealer group’s floorplan interest expense rose 12.9% YoY but decreased 19.5% sequentially to $22.4 million, driven in part by “higher principal balances, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the average floorplan borrowing rate,” according to the filing.
Increasing market share
Camping World holds approximately 11% market share in the combined new- and used-RV market and hopes to exceed 15% market share down the line, Lemonis said. The dealer group plans to reach its market share goal through planned distribution, product and market strategies, he said.
“Dealership acquisitions are part of the DNA of this organization,” Lemonis said. “In May of 2003, we acquired our first dealership and have now grown to over 200 locations at the end of the quarter, with a clear path to 320 as I sit here today.”
The dealer group’s distribution and product strategies, he said, play into the company’s larger market strategies.
“Over the last 15 years, our company has invested in accumulating and dissecting proprietary data,” Lemonis said. “This highly customized data is used to initiate demand, increase lead generation, improve conversion metrics, modernize product design, create efficient inventory ordering and launch real-time market-based new and used pricing.”
Shares of Camping World [Nasdaq: CWH] were up 6.9% from market open to $22.89 at market close. Camping World has a market capitalization of $1 billion.
