THE biggest car retailer in the country just posted a record six-month revenue of $8.1 billion on the back of record new-vehicle sales of almost 94,000 units, equivalent to Eagers Automotive dealers selling close to one in every six new cars in the country..

The listed car giant, with a capitalisation of $6.61 billion, also showed that in the six months ending June 30, 2026, it had an underlying profit before tax of another record – $250.4 million.

It also reflected how important its growth outside Australia has become, with its new Canadian affiliate – CanadaOne Auto – contributing $1.0 billion to the revenue and $43.2 million to the profit before tax.

Eagers said the six months saw return on sales climb to 3.1 per cent – up from 3.0 per cent in the previous corresponding period of 2025’s first half.

Directors declared shareholders would get 25c a share dividend, fully franked, up from the previous period’s 24c/share.

The $8.1b revenue figure is up 24 per cent on the previous first-half and comprises $7b from the Australian and New Zealand operations (up eight per cent) while CanadaOne contributed a sound $1 billion.

ANZ’s portion was up $500m on the previous period.

Keith Thornton

In its profit data, Eagers showed that the ANZ made $207.2m for the period (up 4.8 per cent or $9.5m) while CanadaOne earned $43.2m.

It also notes that the return on sales of 3.1 per cent was 3.0 per cent from ANZ and 4.2 per cent from CanadaOne, all achieved on new-car sales growth.

Elsewhere, the sales of easyauto123 are up 𝟑𝟎.𝟒 per cent, with the used-car division showing a solid revenue increase of 𝟑𝟗.𝟗 per cent.

Eagers said that its stock is selling faster than the used-car market average and 15-20 days quicker. It is planning for its used-car division to sell 100,000 used vehicles by FY30.

Of interest is that while this is happening, it is reducing its staff numbers. Eagers counted 7626 employees in FY19 and for FY26, employment dropped to 6066. But it said productivity has increased from $𝟗𝟎𝟗,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐨 $𝟏.𝟓𝟖𝟒 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞.

Eagers’ CEO Keith Thornton said the result was delivered within “a challenging backdrop characterised by an Australian market with obvious economic headwinds, a persistent and elevated interest rate environment and an industry that is undergoing a historic transformation.

“We are growing our business materially through both acquisitive and organic channels, with revenue up 24 per cent on the same period last year, while protecting our strong net margins that now outperform the industry average in Australia by a record amount,” he said.

“This combination of revenue growth and sustained margin performance is expected to deliver significant EPS accretion, providing the ultimate measure of how our plans and execution are delivering growing shareholder returns.”

In his outlook, Mr Thornton said Eagers will continue with its partner portfolio, expect a strong full year contribution from CanadaOne, continue scaling its independent easyauto123 business, and seek further acquisitions in the Australian and North American markets.

Its report also said there are more acquisitions in the pipeline and some to finalise, including buying Audi Centre Melbourne and Audi Richmond (from Zagame Automotive), the acquisition of Grand Motors Group, and the results of its recent investment in car subscription business Karmo.

It also is divesting nine franchised retail and service locations in New Zealand, but will keep its easyauto123 business.

“Two factors characterise the Australian market as we enter the second half of 2026,” added Mr Thornton.

“Firstly, the automotive retail market dynamics will reward those who are relentless on operational execution through a cost-effective and productive platform.

“In parallel to this operating environment, the industry transformation will continue with further consolidation, rationalisation, and evolution of go-to-market business models for both established and emerging OEM brands.

“This industry transformation demands a very deliberate and disciplined approach to capital allocation.

“Eagers is clearly best positioned to be a net winner in this changing market.”