B2B marketplace ACV Auctions posted record quarterly revenue and unit volume in its fiscal Q3.

However, executives at the Buffalo-based digital marketplace warned that the wholesale vehicle market is losing momentum heading into year-end.

ACV Auctions said revenue rose 16% year over year in Q3 to $200 million. It said dealers continued turning to its platform to buy and sell used vehicles. ACV Auctions sold 218,065 vehicles in its fiscal Q3, up 10%, and expanded its marketplace to more than 10,000 sellers and 14,000 buyers.

Chief executive officer George Chamoun said the results reflected “solid execution in our dealer wholesale business.” That comes even as retail demand softened and dealership trade-in retention stayed high, limiting vehicle supply to the wholesale channel.

“Dealers are increasingly leaning into ACV’s technology,” he told analysts on the company’s quarterly earnings call.

ACV Auctions revenue growth in Q3

The company’s franchise rooftop penetration reached 35%, up three points from last year. Additionally, ACV recorded faster-than-average growth in emerging regions such as Southern California and the Midwest, where volumes climbed more than 20%. S

till, Chamoun acknowledged that “growth decelerated in the last two months of the quarter.” He cited weaker retail sales and steeper vehicle depreciation.

ACV’s data-driven tools continue to anchor its growth strategy. Dealers using ClearCar increased their wholesale volumes by more than 30% after rollout. About half of those dealers became new sellers on ACV’s marketplace. ClearCar automates consumer appraisals in service lanes. Another pricing tool, ACV MAX, helped participating dealers boost wholesale sales by 40% within a quarter.

The company’s ACV Guarantee, which allows sellers to list vehicles without a reserve price, grew to 18% of total sales from 11% in the prior quarter, making it ACV’s fastest-growing auction format.

Meanwhile, pilot programs for Project Viper and Virtual Lift 2.0, which use AI and imaging to automate vehicle inspections, have processed more than 60,000 vehicles. ACV expects a full commercial launch in 2026.

Despite revenue gains, ACV reported a GAAP net loss of $24.5 million, compared with a loss of $16 million a year earlier, reflecting higher credit reserves and bankruptcy-related charges tied to a former financing customer.

ACV Auctions outlook for Q4 2025

Chief financial officer William Zerella said arbitration and loan-loss costs remain elevated and will likely stay high through the fourth quarter before normalizing in 2026. The company’s financing arm, ACV Capital, grew revenue by about 70% year over year but is reducing exposure to higher-risk segments after the customer default.

ACV expects Q4 revenue of $180 million to $184 million. For all of 2025, ACV Auctions management forecasts revenue of $756 million to $760 million, roughly 19% higher than 2024 — and an adjusted EBITDA range of $56 million to $58 million, double last year’s figure.

Zerella said the company’s 2026 plan assumes a flat dealer-wholesale market, reflecting slower used-car demand and persistent pricing pressure.

“We’re taking a prudent view given the macro backdrop,” he said.

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