Item 1. BUSINESS
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation organized in 2002, is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest franchised automotive retailers in the United States. Our mission and vision is to put the guest experience first and follow our "North Star" to be the most guest-centric automotive retailer in the industry. We follow three key principles to guide us: (1) have a fun, supportive and inclusive culture where team members thrive personally while building meaningful bonds with one another; (2) be great brand ambassadors and exceptional stewards of capital for our partners who fuel our mission; and (3) be caring professionals who strive to delight our guests and foster love for the brand. Our strong organizational culture and purposeful mission allow us to continuously deliver best-in-class experiences to our guests. As of December 31, 2024, we owned and operated 198 new vehicle franchises, representing 31 brands of automobiles at 152 dealership locations, 37 collision centers, and Total Care Auto, Powered by Landcar ("TCA" or "TCA Business"), our finance and insurance ("F&I") product provider, within 14 states. Our store operations are conducted by our subsidiaries and the Company operates in two reportable segments, the Dealerships and TCA segments.
We offer an extensive range of automotive products and services fulfilling the entire vehicle ownership lifecycle including new and used vehicles, parts and service, which includes vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts and collision repair services (collectively referred to as "parts and services" or "P&S"), and F&I products, including arranging vehicle financing through third parties and aftermarket products, such as extended service contracts, guaranteed asset protection ("GAP") debt cancellation and prepaid maintenance. We strive for a diversified mix of products, services, brands and geographic locations which allows us to reduce our reliance on any one manufacturer, minimize the impact from changes in customer preference and maintain profitability across fluctuations in new vehicle sales. Our diverse revenue base, along with our commitment to operational excellence across our dealership portfolio, provides a resilient business model and strong profit margins.
Our omni-channel platform is designed to engage with customers where and when they want to interact and to increase our market share through digital innovation. We are focused on providing a high level of customer service and have designed our dealerships’ services to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of customers throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Our digital capabilities further enhance our physical dealership network and drive additional revenue. Our ability to provide a low friction experience across our omni-channel platform drives customer satisfaction and repeat business across our dealership portfolio.
Acquisitions
On February 14, 2025, the Company, through one of its subsidiaries, entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Transaction Agreement") with various entities that comprise the Herb Chambers automotive group (the "Herb Chambers Dealerships"). Pursuant to the Transaction Agreement, the Company is expected to acquire substantially all of the assets, including all real property and businesses, of the Herb Chambers Dealerships (collectively, the "Businesses") for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.34 billion, which includes $750 million for goodwill and approximately $590 million for the real estate and leasehold improvements. In addition, the Company will acquire new vehicles, used vehicles, service loaner vehicles, fixed assets, parts and supplies for a purchase price to be determined at the closing (the "Closing") of the transactions set forth in the Transaction Agreement and will reimburse the Herb Chambers Dealerships for certain dealership construction and development costs incurred prior to the Closing. The Businesses include 33 dealerships, 52 franchises and three collision centers. Herb Chambers will retain ownership of the Mercedes-Benz of Boston dealership in Somerville, Massachusetts (the "MB Boston Dealership"). The Transaction Agreement includes certain restrictions and obligations regarding the sale of the MB Boston Dealership, including a put right obligating the Company to purchase the MB Boston Dealership during the five-year period following the Closing, absent certain circumstances.
The Closing is subject to various customary closing conditions, including (i) receipt of approval of the transactions by certain automotive manufacturers, (ii) receipt of certain governmental clearances, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, (iii) the continued accuracy of the representations and warranties of the parties, (iv) the assignment of certain leases and key contracts and (v) the absence of a material adverse effect. The Transaction Agreement also contains certain termination rights. The Herb Chambers Dealerships may, in some circumstances of termination, be required to pay us a termination fee of $100 million, and in other circumstances of termination, be entitled to receive certain earnest money. The Closing is anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2025.
Some but not all of the factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated are set forth at "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in this Form 10-K.
There were no acquisitions during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2022.
On December 11, 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of the business of the Jim Koons ("Koons") Automotive Companies, (collectively, the "Koons acquisition"), thereby acquiring 20 new vehicle dealerships, six collision centers and the real property related thereto for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.50 billion, which includes $256.1 million of new vehicle floor plan financing and $100.9 million of assets held for sale related to Koons Lexus of Wilmington. The acquisition was funded with borrowings under Asbury’s existing credit facility and cash on hand. The Koons acquisition diversified Asbury's geographic mix, with expansion in the greater Washington-Baltimore region of the United States.
Divestitures
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold 1 Lexus franchise (1 dealership location) in Wilmington, Delaware due to OEM requirements in connection with the Koons acquisition, 1 Nissan franchise (1 dealership location) in Denver, Colorado, 1 Nissan franchise (1 dealership location) in Atlanta, Georgia, 1 Chevrolet franchise (1 dealership location) in Atlanta, Georgia and 1 Honda franchise (1 dealership location) in Spokane, Washington. The Company recorded a pre-tax gain totaling $8.6 million, which is presented in our accompanying consolidated statements of income as a gain on dealership divestitures, net.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold 1 franchise (1 dealership location) in Austin, Texas. The Company recorded a pre-tax gain totaling $13.5 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we sold one franchise (one dealership location) in St. Louis, Missouri, three franchises (three dealership locations) and one collision center in Denver, Colorado, two franchises (two dealership locations) in Spokane, Washington, one franchise (one dealership location) in Albuquerque, New Mexico and 11 franchises (nine dealership locations) and two collision centers in North Carolina. The Company recorded a pre-tax gain totaling $207.1 million.
Four Key Components of Our Business
The following chart presents the contribution to total revenue and gross profit by each line of business for the year ended December 31, 2024:
Our new vehicle franchise retail network within our Dealerships segment is made up of dealerships located in 14 states operating primarily under 16 locally branded dealership groups. The following chart provides a detailed breakdown of our states, brand names, and franchises as of December 31, 2024:
Dealership Group Brand Name State Franchise
Coggin Automotive Group Florida Acura, BMW, Buick, Chevrolet, Ford(a), GMC, Honda(d), Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan(a), Toyota
Courtesy Autogroup Florida Chrysler, Dodge Ram, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Sprinter, Toyota
Crown Automotive Company South Carolina Nissan
Virginia Acura, BMW(a), MINI
David McDavid Auto Group Texas Ford, Honda(a), Lincoln
Greenville Automotive Group South Carolina Land Rover, Porsche, Toyota, Volvo
Hare, Bill Estes & Kahlo Automotive Groups Indiana Chevrolet(b), Chrysler(a), Dodge Ram(a), Ford, GMC, Honda, Isuzu, Jeep(a), Toyota
Jim Koons Automotive Companies Maryland Chevrolet(a), Ford, GMC, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter, Toyota(b), Volvo
Virginia Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge Ram, Ford(b), GMC(a), Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Toyota(a)
Larry H. Miller Dealerships Arizona Chrysler(b), Dodge Ram(c), Fiat, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Jeep(b), Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen(a)
California Toyota(a)
Colorado Chrysler(a), Dodge Ram(b), Fiat, Ford, Jeep(a), Nissan, Volkswagen
Idaho Chrysler, Dodge Ram, Honda, Jeep, Subaru
New Mexico Chevrolet, Chrysler(a), Dodge Ram, Hyundai(a), Jeep(a), Toyota
Utah Chevrolet(a), Chrysler(c), Dodge Ram(c), Ford(b), Honda, Jeep(c), Lexus(a), Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Sprinter
Mike Shaw, Stevinson & Arapahoe Automotive Groups Colorado Subaru(a), Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge Ram, Hyundai(a), Jaguar, Jeep, Lexus(a), Porsche, Toyota(a)
Nalley Automotive Group Georgia Acura, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti(a), Kia, Lexus(a), Toyota(b), Volkswagen
Park Place Automotive Texas Acura, Lexus(a), Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz(b), Porsche, Volvo, Sprinter(b)
Plaza Motor Company Missouri Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz(a), Sprinter(a)
____________________________
(a)This dealership group has two of these franchises.
(b)This dealership group has three of these franchises.
(c)This dealership group has four of these franchises.
(d)This dealership group has five of these franchises.
Operations
New Vehicle Sales
The following table reflects the number of franchises we owned as of December 31, 2024 and the percentage of new vehicle revenues represented by class and franchise for the year ended December 31, 2024:
Class/Franchise Number of % of New
Franchises Owned Vehicle Revenues
Luxury
Mercedes-Benz 9 8 %
Lexus 8 10
BMW 5 3
Acura 4 1
Infiniti 4 1
Land Rover 3 2
Porsche 3 2
Volvo 3 1
Audi 2 1
Lincoln 2 1
Genesis 1 *
Bentley 1 *
Jaguar 1 *
Total Luxury 46 30 %
Import
Toyota 19 19 %
Honda 12 9
Hyundai 9 5
Sprinter 8 1
Nissan 6 2
Kia 4 2
Volkswagen 4 1
Subaru 3 2
Fiat 2 *
MINI 1 *
Isuzu 1 *
Total Import 69 41 %
Domestic
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram 52 9 %
Chevrolet, Buick, GMC 18 8
Ford 13 13
Total Domestic 83 29 %
Total Franchises 198 100 %
* Franchise accounted for less than 1% of new vehicle revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Our new vehicle revenues include new vehicle sales and lease transactions arranged by our dealerships with third-party financial institutions. We believe that leasing provides a number of benefits to our other business lines, including the historical customer loyalty to the leasing dealership for repairs and maintenance services and the fact that lessors typically give the leasing dealership the first option to purchase the off-lease vehicle.
Used Vehicle Sales
We sell used vehicles at all our franchised dealership locations. Used vehicle sales include the sale of used vehicles to individual retail customers ("used retail") and the sale of used vehicles to other dealers or licensed wholesalers ("wholesale") (the terms "used retail" and "wholesale" collectively referred to as "used").
Gross profit from the sale of used vehicles depends primarily on our dealerships' ability to obtain a high quality supply of used vehicles and our use of technology to manage our inventory. Our new vehicle operations typically provide our used vehicle operations with a large supply of trade-ins and off-lease vehicles, which we believe are good sources of high quality used vehicles. We also purchase a portion of our used vehicle inventory at "open" auctions and auctions restricted to new vehicle dealers. Additionally, our used vehicle sales benefit from our ability to sell certified pre-owned vehicles from our franchised dealerships.
Parts and Service
We provide vehicle repair and maintenance services, sell replacement parts, and recondition used vehicles at all of our dealerships. In addition, we provide collision repair services at our 37 free-standing collision repair centers that we operate either on the premises of, or in close proximity to, our dealerships. Historically, parts and service revenues have been more stable than those from vehicle sales. Industry-wide, parts and service revenues have consistently increased over time primarily due to the increased cost of maintaining vehicles, the added technical complexity of vehicles, and the increasing number of vehicles on the road.
The automotive parts and service industry tends to be highly fragmented, with franchised dealerships and independent repair shops competing for this business. We believe, however, that the increased use of advanced technology in vehicles is making it difficult for independent repair shops to compete effectively with franchised dealerships as they may not be able to make the investments necessary to perform major or technical repairs. In an effort to maintain the necessary knowledge to service vehicles and further develop our technician staff, we focus on our internal and manufacturer specific training and development programs for new and existing technicians. We believe our parts and service business is also well-positioned to benefit from the service work potentially generated through the sale of extended service contracts to customers who purchase new and used vehicles from us, as historically these customers tend to have their vehicles serviced at the location where they purchased the extended service contract. In addition, our franchised dealerships benefit from manufacturer policies requiring that warranty and recall related repairs be performed at a franchised dealership. We believe our collision repair centers provide us with an attractive opportunity to grow our business due to the high margins provided by collision repair services and the fact that we are able to source original equipment manufacturer parts from our franchised dealerships.
Finance and Insurance
We offer a wide variety of automotive F&I products to our customers. Through the acquisition of TCA in December 2021, we offer extended vehicle service contracts, prepaid maintenance contracts, key replacement contracts, guaranteed asset protection contracts, paintless dent repair contracts, appearance protection contracts, tire and wheel, and lease wear and tear contracts. These F&I products are sold to our customers via our network of dealerships.
In addition to the TCA F&I products, we offer our customers a variety of vehicle protection products through independent third parties in connection with the purchase of vehicles. These products are underwritten and administered by these third parties. Under our arrangements with the providers of these products, we primarily sell the products on a straight commission basis. We are subject to chargebacks for service and other contracts as a result of early termination, default, or prepayment of the contract. In addition, we participate in future profits associated with the performance of the third-party held underlying portfolio for certain products pursuant to retrospective commission arrangements.
We also arrange third-party financing for the sale or lease of vehicles to our customers in exchange for compensation paid to us by the third-party financial institution. We do not directly finance our customers' vehicle purchases or leases, therefore our exposure to losses in connection with those third-party financing arrangements is limited generally to the compensation we receive. The compensation we receive is subject to chargeback, or repayment, to the third-party finance company if a customer defaults or prepays the retail installment contract typically during some limited time period at the beginning of the contract term. We have negotiated agreements with certain lenders pursuant to which we receive additional compensation upon reaching a certain volume of business.
F&I revenue in our Dealerships segment represents the commissions earned from both TCA and independent third parties related to a broad range of F&I products. This F&I revenue is presented net of third-party chargebacks.
F&I revenue in our TCA segment represents the premium revenue earned from customers for F&I products primarily sold in connection with the purchase of vehicles at our dealerships. The premium revenue is recognized over the life of the F&I
product contract as services are provided. We capitalize costs, such as employee sales commissions, to obtain customer contracts, and amortize those costs over the life of the contract. Amortization of costs to obtain customer contracts is included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of income. The portion of commissions that are paid to affiliated dealerships are eliminated upon consolidation. The Dealerships segment also provides vehicle repair and maintenance services to TCA customers in connection with claims related to TCA's products. Upon consolidation, the associated service revenue recorded by the Dealerships segment is eliminated against the service costs incurred by the Dealerships segment. All claims paid related to the contracts are recognized in F&I cost of sales in the TCA segment.
In addition, F&I revenue includes investment income and other gains and losses related to the performance of our investment portfolio.
Business Strategy
We seek to be the most guest-centric automotive retailer and to create long-term value for our stockholders by striving to drive operational excellence and deploy capital to its highest risk adjusted returns. To achieve these objectives, we employ the strategies described below.
Provide an exceptional customer experience in our stores.
We are guided by our mission and vision to be the most guest-centric automotive retailer in the industry and use that framework as our North Star. We have designed our dealerships’ services to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated and demanding automotive consumer. We endeavor to establish relationships that we believe will result in both repeat business and additional business through customer referrals. Furthermore, we provide our dealership managers with appropriate incentives to employ efficient selling approaches, engage in extensive follow-up to develop long-term relationships with customers, and extensively train our sales staff to meet customer needs.
Accelerate same store growth and guest experience through technology investment.
As part of our long-term growth strategy, we invest in technologies or partner with leading software platform vendors to develop applications that (i) serve our guests with omni-channel buying options offering enhanced speed, and transparency and (ii) drive a more efficient guest experience at a lower cost to serve.
Grow F&I product penetration and expand TCA's service offerings across the full dealership portfolio.
We continue to be positioned to leverage the acquisition of LHM to improve profitability via the ownership of TCA, a highly scalable provider of a full-suite of F&I products. TCA’s key offerings include vehicle service contracts, prepaid maintenance, protection plans, key and remote replacement, leased vehicle protection and tire and wheel protection. Over the long-term, we expect that the profitability of our TCA products will be higher than the profitability associated with selling F&I products offered by third-parties. We are continuing to integrate TCA’s service offerings across our full dealership portfolio to increase our F&I product penetration and profitability. We expect to complete the rollout of TCA's service offerings to all of our dealerships in 2025 by offering TCA products in our Florida market during the first quarter of 2025, and the Koons platform in the second quarter of 2025; however, no assurance can be given that the rollout will be completed with the timeframe contemplated.
Attract, retain and invest in top talent to drive growth and optimize operations.
We believe the core of our business success lies in our talent pool, so we are focused on attracting, hiring and retaining the best people. We also invest in resources to train and develop our employees. Our executive management team has extensive experience in the auto retail sector and is able to leverage experience from all positions throughout the Company. In addition, we believe that local management of dealership operations enables our retail network to provide market specific responses to sales, customer service and inventory requirements. The general manager of each of our dealerships is responsible for the operations, personnel and financial performance of that dealership as well as other day-to-day operations.
Leverage scale and cost structure to improve operating efficiencies.
We are positioned to leverage our significant scale so that we are able to achieve competitive operating margins by centralizing and streamlining various back-office functions. We are able to improve financial controls and lower servicing costs by maintaining key store-level accounting and administrative activities in our shared service centers, and we leverage our scale to reduce costs related to purchasing certain equipment, supplies, and services through national vendor relationships. Similarly, we are able to leverage our scale to implement these best practices when integrating newly acquired dealerships allowing us to continue to improve our operating efficiencies.
Deploy capital to highest returns and continue to invest in the business.
Our capital allocation decisions are made within the context of maintaining sufficient liquidity and a prudent capital structure. We target a 2.5x to 3.5x transaction adjusted net leverage ratio, which is calculated as set forth in our credit facility, in a normal business environment. The Company’s transaction adjusted net leverage ratio was 2.85x at December 31, 2024, compared to 2.54x at December 31, 2023. We believe our cash position and borrowing capacity, combined with our current and expected future cash generation capability, provides us with financial flexibility to, among other things, reinvest in our business, acquire dealerships and repurchase our stock, when prudent.
We continually evaluate our existing dealership network and seek to make strategic investments that will increase the capacity of our dealerships and improve the customer experience. In addition, we continue to execute on our strategy of selectively acquiring our leased properties where financing rates make it attractive to be an owner and provide us a further means to finance our business.
Evaluate opportunities to refine the dealership portfolio.
We continually evaluate the financial and operating results of our dealerships, as well as each dealership’s geographical location and, based on various financial and strategic rationales, may make decisions to dispose of dealerships to refine our dealership and real estate portfolio. We also evaluate dealership acquisition opportunities based on market position and geography, brand representation and availability, key personnel and other factors. Our approach to dispositions and acquisitions is highly disciplined with a focus on long-term strategic value to stockholders.
Deliver on our mission to grow and transform our business with revenue of $30 billion or more by 2030.
We continually evaluate additional opportunities to drive revenue growth while maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation. In February 2024, the Company announced an update to our strategic outlook targeting revenue of $30 billion or more by 2030. We intend to execute on this strategic plan by focusing on a variety of growth efforts including, balanced capital allocation, driving same-store revenue growth and acquiring revenue through strategic transactions. Aligning with our strategic outlook, the Company, on February 14, 2025, through one of its subsidiaries, entered into a Transaction Agreement with the Herb Chambers Dealerships that will result in the Company acquiring substantially all of the assets, including all real property and businesses of the Herb Chambers Dealerships, which comprise 33 dealerships, 52 franchises and three collision centers, which is expected to positively contribute to the Company’s overall revenue objectives.
Competition
The automotive retail and service industry is highly competitive with respect to price, service, location, and selection. For new vehicle sales, our dealerships compete with other franchised dealerships, primarily in their regions. Our new vehicle store competitors also have franchise agreements with the various vehicle manufacturers, and as such, generally obtain new vehicle inventory from vehicle manufacturers on the same terms as us. The franchise agreements grant the franchised dealership a non-exclusive right to sell the manufacturer's (or distributor's) brand of vehicles and offer related parts and service within a specified market area. State automotive franchise laws restrict competitors from relocating their stores or establishing new stores of a particular vehicle brand within a specified area that is served by our dealership of the same vehicle brand. Recently, certain electric vehicle manufacturers have been permitted to circumvent the state automotive franchise laws of several states in the United States thereby permitting them to sell their new vehicles directly to consumers. We rely on our advertising and merchandising, sales expertise, service reputation, strong local branding, and location of our dealerships to assist in the sale of new vehicles.
Our used vehicle operations compete with other franchised dealerships, non-franchised automotive dealerships, regional and national vehicle rental companies, and internet-based vehicle brokers for the supply and resale of used vehicles.
We compete with other franchised dealerships to perform warranty and recall-related repairs. We compete with other franchised dealerships and independent service centers for collision and non-warranty repair and maintenance services. We compete with other automobile dealers, service stores, and auto parts retailers in our parts operations. We believe that we have a competitive advantage in parts and service sales due to our ability to use factory-approved replacement parts, our skilled manufacturer trained and certified technicians, our competitive prices, our familiarity with manufacturer brands and models, and the quality of our customer service.
We compete with a broad range of financial institutions in arranging financing for our customers' vehicle purchases. In addition, many financial institutions are now offering F&I products through the internet, which has increased competition and may reduce our profits on certain of these items. We believe the principal competitive factors in providing financing are convenience, interest rates, and flexibility in contract length.
Seasonality
The automobile industry has historically been subject to seasonal variations. Demand for new vehicles is generally highest during the second and third quarters of each year and, accordingly, we expect our revenues and operating results to generally be higher during these periods. In addition, we typically experience higher sales of luxury vehicles, which have higher average selling prices and gross profit per vehicle retailed, in the fourth quarter. Revenues and operating results may be impacted significantly from quarter to quarter by changing economic conditions, vehicle manufacturer incentive programs, or adverse weather events, or other occurrences that are outside of our control.
Dealer and Framework Agreements
Each of our dealerships operate pursuant to a dealer agreement between the dealership and the manufacturer (or in some cases the distributor) of each brand of new vehicles sold and/or serviced at the dealership. The dealer agreements grant the franchised dealership a non-exclusive right to sell the manufacturer's (or distributor's) brand of vehicles and offer related parts and service within a specified market area. Each dealer agreement also grants our dealerships the right to use the manufacturer's trademarks and service marks in connection with the dealerships' operations and they also impose numerous operational requirements related to, among other things, the following:
•inventories of new vehicles and manufacturer replacement parts;
•maintenance of minimum net working capital requirements, and in some cases, minimum net worth requirements;
•achievement of certain sales and customer satisfaction targets;
•advertising and marketing practices;
•facilities and signs;
•products offered to customers;
•dealership management;
•personnel training;
•information systems;
•geographic market, including but not limited to requirements to meet sales and service targets within an assigned market area, geographic limitations on where the dealership may locate or advertise, and restrictions on the export of vehicles; and
•dealership monthly and annual financial reporting.
Our dealer agreements are for various terms, ranging from one year to indefinite. We expect that we will be able to renew expiring agreements in the ordinary course of business. However, typical dealer agreements give the manufacturer the right to terminate or the option of non-renewal of the dealer agreement under certain circumstances, subject to applicable state automotive dealership franchise laws, including:
•insolvency or bankruptcy of the dealership;
•failure to adequately operate the dealership or to maintain required capitalization levels;
•impairment of the reputation or financial condition of the dealership;
•change of ownership or management of the dealership without manufacturer consent;
•certain extraordinary corporate transactions such as a merger or sale of all or substantially all of our assets without manufacturer consent;
•failure to complete facility upgrades required by the manufacturer or agreed to by the dealer;
•failure to maintain any license, permits or authorization required to conduct the dealership's business;
•conviction of a dealer/manager or owner for certain crimes; or
•material breach of other provisions of a dealer agreement.
Notwithstanding the terms of any dealer agreement, the states in which we operate have automotive dealership franchise laws which provide that it is unlawful for a manufacturer to terminate or not renew a franchise unless "good cause" exists.
In addition to requirements under dealer agreements, we are subject to provisions contained in supplemental agreements, framework agreements, dealer addenda and manufacturers' policies, collectively referred to as "framework agreements." Framework agreements impose requirements on us in addition to those described above. Such agreements also define other standards and limitations, including:
•company-wide performance criteria;
•capitalization requirements;
•limitations on changes in our ownership or management;
•limitations on the number of a particular manufacturer's franchises owned by us;
•restrictions or prohibitions on our ability to pledge the stock of certain of our subsidiaries; and
•conditions for consent to proposed acquisitions, including sales and customer satisfaction criteria, as well as limitations on the total local, regional, and national market share percentage that would be represented by a particular manufacturer's franchises owned by us after giving effect to a proposed acquisition.
Some dealer agreements and framework agreements grant the manufacturer the right to terminate or not renew our dealer and framework agreements, or to compel us to divest our dealerships, for a number of reasons, including default under the agreement, any unapproved change of control (specific changes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but which include material changes in the composition of our Board of Directors during a specified time period, the acquisition of 5% or more of our voting stock by another vehicle manufacturer or distributor, the acquisition of 20% or more of our voting stock by third parties, and the acquisition of an ownership interest sufficient to direct or influence management and policies), or certain other unapproved events (including certain extraordinary corporate transactions such as a merger or sale of all or substantially all of our assets). Triggers of the clauses are often based upon actions by our stockholders and are generally outside of our control. Some of our dealer agreements and framework agreements also give the manufacturer a right of first refusal if we propose to sell any dealership representing the manufacturer's brands to a third-party. These agreements may also attempt to limit the protections available under applicable state laws and require us to resolve disputes through binding arbitration. For additional information, please refer to the risk factor captioned "We are dependent upon our relationships with the manufacturers of vehicles that we sell and are subject to restrictions imposed by, and significant influence from, these vehicle manufacturers. Any of these restrictions or any changes or deterioration of these relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows."
Our framework agreements with certain manufacturers contain provisions that, among other things, attempt to limit the protections available to dealers under these laws. If these laws are repealed in the states in which we operate, manufacturers may be able to terminate our franchises without providing us with advance notice, an opportunity to cure or a showing of good cause. Without the protection of these laws, it may also be more difficult for us to renew our dealer agreements upon expiration.
Changes in laws that provide manufacturers the ability to terminate our dealer agreements could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if a manufacturer seeks protection from creditors in bankruptcy, courts have held that the federal bankruptcy laws may supersede these laws, resulting in either the termination, non-renewal or rejection of franchises by such manufacturers, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For additional information, please refer to the risk factor captioned "If state laws that protect automotive retailers are repealed, weakened, or superseded by our framework agreements with manufacturers, our dealerships will be more susceptible to termination, non-renewal or renegotiation of their dealer agreements which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows."
Regulations
We operate in a highly regulated industry. In every state in which we operate, we must obtain one or more licenses issued by state regulatory authorities in order to operate our business. In addition, we are subject to numerous complex federal, state, and local laws regulating the conduct of our business, including those relating to our sales, operations, finance and insurance, marketing, and employment practices. These laws and regulations include state franchise laws and regulations, product standards and recalls, consumer protection laws, privacy and data security laws, anti-money laundering laws, and other extensive laws and regulations applicable to new and used motor vehicle dealers. These laws also include federal and state wage and hour, anti-discrimination, and other laws governing employment practices.
Industry Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has regulatory authority over automotive dealers and has implemented enforcement initiatives relating to the marketing practices of automotive dealers. Our operations are also subject to the National
Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and other product standards promulgated by the United States Department of Transportation, and the rules and regulations of various state motor vehicle regulatory agencies.
Our financing activities with customers are subject to federal truth-in-lending, consumer leasing, and equal credit opportunity laws and regulations, as well as state and local motor vehicle finance laws, leasing laws, installment finance laws, usury laws, and other installment state and leasing laws and regulations. Some U.S. states regulate fees and charges that may be collected as a result of vehicle sales and service. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law may be asserted against us or our stores by individuals or governmental entities and may expose us to significant damages, fines or other penalties, including revocation or suspension of our license to conduct store operations. Our financing activities, as well as our sale of finance and insurance products, may also be impacted indirectly by laws and regulations that govern automotive finance companies and other financial institutions, including regulations adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB").
Our TCA business involves the offer and sale of extended vehicle service contracts, debt protection products, vehicle protection plans and other miscellaneous vehicle protection products, which are subject to a wide range of federal, state and local laws and regulations. The Departments of Insurance of U.S. states have regulatory authority over our TCA business. Our TCA business is subject to state licensing and registration requirements, and financial responsibility and security requirements. For additional information, please refer to the risk factors captioned: "Our dealership operations and facilities are subject to extensive governmental laws and regulations. If we are found to be in purported violation of or subject to liabilities under any of these laws or regulations, or if new laws or regulations are enacted that adversely affect our operations, our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and prospects could suffer" and "Our TCA business is subject to a wide range of federal, state and local laws and regulations, some of which we may not have previously been subject. If we are found to be in purported violation of or subject to liabilities under any of these laws or regulations, or if new laws or regulations are enacted that adversely affect our TCA business, our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, reputation and prospects could suffer."
Environmental, Health and Safety Laws and Regulations
We are subject to a wide range of environmental laws and regulations, including those governing discharges into water, air emissions, storage of petroleum substances and chemicals, handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, remediation of various types of contamination, and otherwise relating to health, safety and protection of the environment. For example, and without creating an exhaustive list: as with automobile dealerships generally, and service and parts and collision repair center operations in particular, our business involves the generation, use, handling, and disposal of hazardous or toxic substances and wastes and the use of above ground and underground storage tanks (ASTs and USTs). Operations involving the management of wastes and the use of ASTs and USTs are subject to requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, analogous state statutes, and their implementing regulations. Pursuant to these laws, federal and state environmental agencies have established approved methods for handling, storing, treating, transporting, and disposing of regulated substances and wastes with which we must comply. We also are subject to laws and regulations governing responses to any releases of contamination at or from our facilities or at facilities that receive our hazardous wastes for treatment or disposal. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA") and similar state statutes, can impose strict and joint and several liability for cleanup costs on those that are considered to have contributed to the release of a "hazardous substance." We also are subject to the Clean Water Act, analogous state statutes, and their implementing regulations which, among other things, prohibit discharges of pollutants into regulated waters without permits, require containment of potential discharges of oil or hazardous substances, and require preparation of spill contingency plans.
We have incurred, and will continue to incur, costs and capital expenditures to comply with these laws and regulations. We believe that our operations currently are being conducted in substantial compliance with all applicable regulations. From time to time, we may experience incidents and encounter conditions that are not in compliance with regulations. We may occasionally receive notices from governmental agencies regarding potential violations of these laws or regulations. In such cases, we will work with the agencies to address any issues and to implement appropriate corrective action when necessary. However, none of our dealerships has been subject to any material liabilities in the past, nor do we know of any fact or condition that would result in any material liabilities being incurred in the future.
Human Capital
Mission and Vision
At Asbury, our North Star and our mission is to be the most guest-centric automotive retailer. Our success depends on our employees and their commitment to delivering a consistent and exceptional guest experience. Our employees work at locations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Virginia and Maryland. We believe that our employees help to set us apart from our competitors, and, therefore, we understand
they are our greatest asset. As a result, a critical part of our business strategy is investing in, supporting and developing our employees so that they are trained and incentivized to provide best-in-class service to our guests.
As of December 31, 2024, we employed approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time employees, none of whom were covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe we have good relations with our employees.
Inclusive and Welcoming Culture
We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive workplace throughout our dealerships and offices for our team members who represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We feel that building this culture enables us to attract, retain and develop the careers of our highly talented team members. We intend to continue to learn and develop - working towards building a workplace where every Asbury team member feels included and welcomed.
Community Outreach
Through our Asbury Cares program, we support selected community partner organizations across the nation to help reduce disparities in our communities where we live and serve. Since 2021, we have awarded all of our full-time employees with an additional 40 hours of paid time off per year that can be used to volunteer with our local community partners. We have seen significant year-over-year growth in employee participation in our community engagement events.
A significant portion of our Asbury Cares Community program revolves around education and making sure that young people in underserved communities have access to a quality education. We formed a partnership with HBCU Change, an app-based organization that lets users round up their spending and donate to historically black colleges and universities ("HBCU"). We learned that many HBCUs historically lag in funding and resources compared to other public or private universities and many have closed their doors in recent years. Many of our Asbury team members are proud HBCU alumni and these institutions provide a unique community of support and understanding for not only African American students, but students of all races and backgrounds.
In partnership with HBCU Change, we launched a campaign to help raise funds for HBCUs across the country and in the local communities where we operate. The point-of-sale credit card machines in our locations show a prompt asking our guests if they would like to round up their change or donate $1, $3, $5, or a custom amount to HBCUs in their communities. At the end of each quarter, the funds raised are donated to HBCUs across the country. Through donations from our guests and company match, we have contributed more than $1.5 million to HBCUs since the start of our partnership with HBCU Change in May 2021.
Recruitment and Talent Development
When recruiting for open positions, we search for the most talented people who each have varying backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We also partner with local colleges and trade schools to develop apprenticeship and internship programs. This allows us to help provide valuable training to entry-level candidates while also growing our pipeline.
Our goal is to promote employees from within to career growth opportunities whenever possible. We invest resources to train and develop our employees to reach their career goals. In 2022, we launched a training curriculum for all store positions. In addition, we offer our employees access to an online career path tool, which helps them plan their desired career path and see the required performance goals and milestones to be considered for a promotion. Our fixed operations organization encourages technicians to obtain and maintain certification status with our vehicle manufacturers, and in most cases, our dealership pays for the training. Our employees also attend vehicle manufacturer-sponsored and industry training events.
We pride ourselves on rewarding and developing talented and tenured employees.
Compensation and Benefits
We offer competitive compensation and benefits to attract and retain the best people, including the following benefits for our full-time employees:
•Health, dental, and vision benefits with multiple plan choices;
•Discounted healthcare premiums for biometric screening and completion of health survey; and
•Employee assistance program.
Saving and retirement
•Holiday match; and
•401(k) match.
Paid time off
•Up to 4 weeks paid time off;
•Paid pregnancy leave; and
•Paid parental leave.
Disability and accident insurance
•Short-term disability and long-term disability insurance;
•Accident insurance, hospital indemnity, employee critical illness insurance;
•Employer paid life insurance; and
•Supplemental life insurance.
Scholarships for education
•Annual scholarship program.
Broad employee equity ownership
•We also lead the industry by offering equity awards to frontline employees because we want them to be owners of our Company and committed to our long-term success.
Self-Insurance Programs
Due to the inherent risk in the automotive retail industry, our operations expose us to a variety of liabilities. These risks generally require significant levels of insurance covering liabilities such as claims from employees, customers, or other third parties, for personal injury and property-related losses occurring in the course of our operations. We may be subject to fines and civil and criminal penalties in connection with alleged violations of federal and state laws or regulatory environments. Further, the automobile retail industry is subject to substantial risk of real and personal property loss, due to the significant concentration of property values located at the various dealership locations.
Under our self-insurance programs, including property and casualty, workers’ compensation, and medical, the Company retains various levels of aggregate loss limits and per-claim deductibles. In addition, the Company maintains separate insurance policies to address potential cyber and directors and officers exposures. We are self-insured for certain employee medical claims and maintain stop-loss insurance for individual claims.
Provisions for retained losses and deductibles are made by charges to expense based upon periodic evaluations of the estimated ultimate liabilities on reported and unreported claims. The insurance companies that underwrite our insurance require we secure certain of our obligations for deductible reimbursements with collateral. Our collateral requirements are set by the insurance companies and, to date, have been satisfied by posting surety bonds, letters of credit, and/or cash deposits. Our collateral requirements may change from time-to-time based on, among other things, our claims experience.