Toronto, Ontario -- In this week's Tuesday Ticker, two Canadian collision sector giants release quarterly performance figures.
While both companies' delighted investors with their results, their performances looked like mirror images of one another. While AutoCanada's revenues fell and its profits rose, the Boyd Group saw its gross profits decline while its revenues ticked upward.
AutoCanada's streamlined approach
While its revenues fell, AutoCanada Inc. reported a sharp rise in profits during the second quarter of 2025, as cost-cutting and efficiency gains took hold across its dealerships and collision centres.
"AutoCanada's second-quarter results reflect the momentum we're building as our transformation takes hold,” said Paul Antony, the company’s executive chairman, in a press release.
AutoCanada is one of Canada’s largest multi-location automotive retailers, selling new and used vehicles and operating collision repair centres. Its network of dealerships and service centres spans the country, offering sales, maintenance, and repair services across multiple vehicle brands.
For the three months ending June 30, the Edmonton-based auto retail group recorded $1.338 billion in revenue from continuing operations, down three percent from $1.381 billion in the same period last year. Gross profit, however, increased 2.1 percent to $225.4 million, with stronger margins in used vehicles and collision repair offsetting weaker new vehicle and finance income.
Those savings helped drive adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations to $64.4 million, nearly doubling $33.5 million a year earlier. Including discontinued operations, adjusted EBITDA was $68.5 million, compared with $27.0 million in Q2 2024. Net income from continuing operations rose to $18.9 million, up from $3.9 million last year, while total net income turned positive at $18.9 million versus a $33.1 million loss a year ago. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations climbed to $0.72, compared with $0.12 in Q2 2024.
“With $80.0 million in annualized savings already realized, we've raised our target to $115.0 million, exceeding the original $100.0 million ambition we committed to at the beginning of this year,” Antony added. “At the same time, we've made decisive progress on the U.S. divestiture, with one dealership sold and a clear path to exit the remaining dealerships.”
Operating expenses before depreciation fell nine percent to $157.1 million. Adjusted expenses, excluding a $6.0 million restructuring charge, dropped even further, down 10.1 percent to $147.5 million.
During the quarter, the company announced it would be divesting its U.S. dealerships to focus on Canadian operations. When fully divested, the company expects net proceeds of between $115.0 million and $130.0 million.
“As we enter the final phase of our transformation, AutoCanada has come full circle, returning to its roots as a focused consolidator of Canadian dealerships and collision centres. As we close out the year, our priorities are clear: complete the U.S. exit, deliver the remaining savings, deleverage the balance sheet, and position the company for its next chapter of profitable growth.”
The company also made progress on its balance sheet. Its ratio of total net funded debt to bank EBITDA was cut to 3.42 times at the end of June, down from 4.92 times in March. AutoCanada said proceeds from ongoing U.S. dealership divestitures—expected to total between $115.0 million and $130.0 million—will be used to further reduce debt.
Following the Q2 2025 results, AutoCanada stock rose approximately 0.97 percent in after-hours trading, equivalent to an estimated gain of about $0.28 CAD per share.
Boyd back in action
In a mirror image of AutoCanada’s results, Boyd Group Services Inc. reported revenue growth but a decline in net earnings in the second quarter of 2025. The company generated US$780.4 million in sales, marking a 0.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Despite this, same-store sales declined by 2.1 percent.
Boyd Group operates North America’s network of automotive collision repair centres, providing bodywork, paint, scanning, and calibration services for individuals and insurance partners. The company focuses on integrating technology to streamline repairs, improve consistency, and reduce turnaround times across its centres.
Gross margins improved to 46.8 percent, up 120 basis points from Q2 2024, driven by greater internalization of scanning and calibration work, better performance-based pricing, and improved parts margins. Operational efficiencies and cost control helped elevate adjusted EBITDA to US$93.8 million, a 4.7 percent increase year-over-year, while the adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 12 percent, up from 11.5 percent.
Net earnings stood at US$5.42 million, down from US$10.8 million in Q2 2024. Diluted earnings per share also declined to US$0.25, compared with US$0.50 a year earlier. The market responded strongly — Boyd Group’s stock surged roughly 18.4 percent following the earnings call.
Investor optimism appears rooted in the company’s margin improvements and cost-saving initiatives, particularly the newly launched Project 360, which targets US$30 million in annual run-rate savings and a longer-term goal of US$100 million by 2029. The company also reaffirmed its expansion strategy, planning to increase its network to over 1,400 locations and reach US$5 billion in revenue over the next several years.
"During the second quarter, we continued to realize the benefits of further internalization of scanning and calibration services and made additional headway on our Project 360 cost transformation plan, with gross margins increasing 120 basis points year-over-year to 46.8 percent and adjusted EBITDA margins increasing to 12 percent, up from 11.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024 and 10.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025," said Brian Kaner, president and chief executive officer of the Boyd Group.
"Despite ongoing industry headwinds, our adjusted EBITDA margin in the second quarter was the highest quarterly performance since 2023,” Kaner added.
“We are committed to continuing to improve our profitability as we focus on attaining our adjusted EBITDA margin target of 14 percent by 2029."
