Driveway Finance originations jumped 43.5% YoY

Driveway Finance Corp. , Lithia Motors ’ finance arm, grew originations 43.5% year over year in the fourth quarter, while dealerships Lithia, Penske Automotive Group and Asbury Automotive posted mixed results at yearend. Driveway Finance Corp.’s (DFC) originations came in at $719 million in Q4, down 1.8% quarter over quarter but up 43.5% year over year , according to the company’s earnings presentation released today. Full-year originations tallied $2.8 billion in 2025, according to an Auto Finance News analysis of DFC’s earnings releases. The captive’s portfolio closed 2025 at $4.7 billion, up 20.5% year over year, according to the presentation. Additionally, DFC had a 15% penetration rate with an average FICO of 751 in Q4, with penetration playing a key role in Lithia’s long-term growth strategy, President and Chief Executive Bryan DeBoer said during the company’s earnings call today. “Growing our market share and increasing volume is a turbo boost to our ecosystem's future profitability as we increase DFC penetration, after-sales retention and benefit from the waterfall of used vehicle trade-ins during the quarter,” he said. “Our diversified earnings mix and focus on market share deliver double-digit growth and after-sales and stable F&I performance to help offset front-end pressures.” DFC also hit a 17.5% penetration rate in January 2026, Chuck Lietz , senior vice president of finance at Lithia, said during the earnings call. Lithia’s F&I rises 3.9% YoY Meanwhile, Lithia’s finance and insurance (F&I) revenue in Q4 hit $356.9 million, up 0.3% YoY, according to today’s earnings release. Full-year F&I revenue came in at $1.5 billion, up 3.9% YoY. Average F&I gross profit per unit (GPU) in Q4 was $1,869, up 0.9% YoY, according to the release. Full-year average F&I GPU landed at $1,844, up 1.7% YoY. Lithia also reported in Q4: Q4 new-vehicle retail sales fell 8.1% YoY to 97,424 units; Q4 used-vehicle retail sales increased 4.8% YoY to 99,905 units; Full-year new-vehicle retail sales dipped 0.9% YoY to 402,575 units; Full-year used-vehicle retail sales climbed 3.3% YoY to 425,381 units; Average new-vehicle GPU was $2,781 in Q4, down 8.9% YoY; Average used-vehicle GPU was $1,555 in Q4, down 8.2% YoY; Q4 floorplan interest expense hit $58.3 million, down 10% YoY; and Full-year floorplan interest expense was $228.2 million, down 18.1% YoY. Shares of Lithia Motors [ Nasdaq: LAD ] were trading at $320.41 as of market close, down 1.9% or $6.14 from market open. Lithia has a market capitalization of $7.9 billion. Penske F&I revenue dips 2.9% YoY Bloomfield Township, Mich.-based Penske Automotive Group’s F&I revenue dropped 5.2% YoY to $199.8 million, according to the company’s earnings release today. Full-year F&I revenue was down 2.9% YoY to $816.5 million. Q4 F&I GPU rose 4.4% YoY to $1,857 in Q4, while full-year F&I GPU increased 5.1% YoY to $1,812, according to the release. F&I revenue represented 3% of total revenue, flat YoY, and 18.9% of gross profit in Q4, up 10 basis points (bps) YoY. For the full year, F&I accounted for 3% of total revenue, down 10 bps, and 18.2% of gross profit, down 70 bps YoY. Penske also reported that: Q4 retail new-vehicle sales dropped 12.9% YoY to 52,907 units; Full-year retail new-vehicle sales declined 3.9% YoY to 215,536 units; Q4 retail used-vehicle sales fell 5.9% YoY to 52,571 units; Full-year retail used-vehicle sales decreased 11.3% YoY to 226,301 units; Q4 new-vehicle GPU landed at $4,689, down 7.5% YoY; Full-year new-vehicle GPU came in at $4,920, down 3.5% YoY; Q4 used-vehicle GPU was $1,770, down 0.2% YoY; Full-year used-vehicle GPU was $2,074, up 13.7% YoY; New-vehicle inventory sat at 49 days in Q4, flat YoY, Used-vehicle inventory sat at 49 days, up from 47 days in the prior year; Q4 floorplan interest expense was down 14.1% YoY to $41.4 million; and Full-year floorplan interest expense fell 11.7% YoY to $170.6 million. Shares of Penske Automotive Group [NYSE: PAG] traded up 5.4% or $8.82 from market open to $173.22 at market close. Penske has a market capitalization of $10.8 billion. Asbury Automotive sales rose Asbury Automotive’s F&I rose 1.5% YoY in Q4 2025 to $201.4 million, according to the company’s Feb. 5 earnings release. F&I GPU rose 4.4% YoY to $2,334, while F&I revenue accounted for 4.3% of total revenue in 2025, down 10 bps, and 23.8% of gross profit, down 80 bps. Asbury’s sales figures were as follows: New-vehicle sales inched down 0.1% YoY to 47,201 units in Q4; Full-year new-vehicle sales increased to 181,204 units, up 4.6% YoY; Used-vehicle sales fell 4.4% YoY to 33,782 units in Q4; Full-year used-vehicle sales declined 5% YoY to 143,126 units; New-vehicle inventory sat at 52 days in Q4, up from 49 days in Q4 2024, Used-vehicle inventory sat at 38 days, up from 37 days in the prior year; Floorplan interest expense hit $25.6 million in Q4, up 8% YoY; and Full-year floorplan interest expense landed at $91.2 million, up 1.4% YoY. Asbury Automotive also continued its divestiture strategy as part of a larger restructuring plan, with the company divesting four stores in Q4 2025 and expecting to divest another nine stores in the first quarter of 2026, President and Director David Hult said during the company’s Feb. 5 earnings call. “These 13 transactions collectively represent $750 million of annualized revenue,” he said. “We expect to continue our repurchasing activity in 2026 , the pace of which will be dictated by our share price, leverage profile, economic conditions and trade-offs with strategic tuck-in acquisition opportunities.” Shares of Asbury Automotive Group [NYSE: ABG] rose 1.6% or $3.73 from market open to $232.29 at market close. Asbury’s market capitalization is at $4.4 billion. Auto Finance News will present multiple invaluable events for industry professionals in 2026, starting with Auto Finance Summit East and Auto Finance Capital Summit in May. To see event agendas and register, visit autofinance.live .

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