The Presidio Group’s automotive dealership valuation expertise and insights on the latest trends in mergers and acquisitions are informed, in part, by our work with many of the country’s biggest and most influential dealership groups. These relationships give us an insider’s view of how experienced and sophisticated operators value dealerships.
With dealership buy-sell activity continuing to strengthen in 2026’s second quarter, there’s no end in sight to the industry’s robust transaction pace as the supply-demand equation continues to favor sellers. Yet with average dealership earnings softer against a more uncertain backdrop, buyers are increasingly selective about how and where they deploy their capital, intensifying competition for the most desirable stores coming to market.
Given deal pace reported so far, The Presidio Group estimates first-half 2026 transactions will rise 23% to approximately 215, involving about 315 dealerships. While partly a rebound from early 2025’s slower closing pace that followed a pause around the 2024 presidential election, the first-half cadence demonstrates 2026’s healthy M&A demand, particularly as more dealers pursue portfolio management initiatives to strengthen their footprints.
Key second-quarter themes include:
- The sellers’ market for prime assets continues as demand far outstrips the supply of desirable stores for sale. In the just-released Presidio Midyear 2026 Dealer Direction Survey, 64% of respondents said they want to buy in the next year.
- Portfolio management is becoming a bigger driver of transaction activity. Transaction volume is rising as more dealers pursue both acquisitions and divestitures to improve their mix of brands, markets and scale.
- Auto retailing continues to face near-term headwinds. Dealers expressed concern about falling profits, geopolitical conflict, rising costs and flagging consumer confidence in Presidio’s midyear 2026 survey.
- The accelerating flight to quality and the market’s supply-demand imbalance means increased competition for dealerships in the most desirable markets and representing such brands as Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Kia, Chevrolet and Ford.
- Brand-level divergence is widening. Even as the most attractive stores command premiums and multiple bidders, dealerships representing struggling brands or located in challenging markets face increased scrutiny.
- Dealers remain optimistic about the future. Over the next three years, 64% of dealers responding to the latest Presidio survey expect earnings to increase or remain the same, while 75% expect dealership values to increase or remain stable.