Car Dealer Briefing

Car Dealer Briefing

Why did Auto Trader shares drop after £375m annual profit revealed?

Here's a look at this week's most important Car Dealer headlines

James Baggott's avatar
James Baggott
May 30, 2025
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Hello and welcome to your weekly round-up of the motor trade headlines that matter the most.

This week I look at Auto Trader’s annual results and ask why the share price dropped 11%? Car dealers always pay close attention to the ad site’s numbers as it's often one of their largest monthly bills – mine included.

Elsewhere, I’ve been chatting to dealers about what May has been like for them and find out which used car dealer’s vehicle was used in a ram raid.

Also featured this week are:

  • BYD interest

  • Car dealer fraud worry

  • Hartwell losses

  • Used car market data

  • Car dealer jailed

  • Volvo job cuts

  • New Stellantis CEO

  • Nissan dealer’s unique cuppa

Ok, let’s get into the headlines and my take on the week’s news.

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What’s happening?

Auto Trader revealed annual results yesterday that showed a rise in revenue and a jump in profits – but still its share price plummeted.

Profit for the year was up 9% to £376m from £345m the year before and revenue topped £601m, up 5% too.

But it wasn’t enough for investors who were hoping for more – shares fell 11.5% yesterday after the annual results were released. So what’s going on?

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