Autotrader Group plc (LON:AUTO), the UK’s largest automotive marketplace and leading digital platform for the automotive industry, has delivered results in line with expectations, continuing its long track record of EPS growth, up 5% year-on-year.
Financial results
| £m (unless otherwise specified) | H1 2027 | H1 2026 | Change |
| Revenue excluding vehicle & accessory sales | 301.8 | 301.2 | 0% |
| Vehicle & accessory sales | 11.6 | 16.5 | (30%) |
| Group revenue | 313.4 | 317.7 | (1%) |
| Operating costs | (117.2) | (119.7) | 2% |
| Share of profit from joint ventures | 2.3 | 2.1 | 10% |
| Group operating profit | 198.5 | 200.1 | (1%) |
| Group operating profit margin | 63% | 63% | – |
| Operating profit margin excl. vehicle & accessory sales | 66% | 66% | – |
| Basic earnings per share (pence) | 18.10 | 17.26 | 5% |
| Cash generated from operations1 | 215.3 | 215.4 | (0%) |
| Net (bank debt) / cash2 | (320.0) | 5.2 | (325.2) |
| Leverage (times)3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
H1 Headlines
– Basic earnings per share grew 5% year-on-year. As expected, revenue excluding vehicle & accessory sales increased marginally as we worked through retailer feedback regarding our Deal Builder product roll-out in November 2025.
– Retailer forecourt numbers increased from 13.6k at the end of March, to 13.9k at the end of September. Live car listings also increased through this period, largely due to private adverts which were mainly exclusive to Autotrader.
– Costs remained well-controlled with operating profit margins maintained at 63%, or 66% excluding vehicle & accessory sales.
– Our position with car buyers has continued to strengthen, with 12x more time spent on Autotrader (H1 2026: 9x) than our nearest competitor4 and over 75% of all minutes spent on automotive marketplaces5 were spent on Autotrader (H1 2026: over 75%).
– Through the continued strength of our brand, wide selection of available cars and the unique tools we provide, almost 80% of buyers on Autotrader choose to come to us directly6. We see AI assistants as an additional way of reaching consumers and we are comfortably the most visible automotive marketplace in AI search, as measured by Profound. Referral traffic to Autotrader currently remains below 1%.
– During the half, we returned £330m to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. We purchased 55.7m shares (6.7% of issued share capital) at an average price of 483.4p. In July, we amended and extended our existing debt facility, increasing capacity to £600m. At the end of September, we had drawn £335m of debt, increasing leverage up to 0.8x (Sept 2025: 0.0x). We are proposing an interim dividend of 4.2 pence per share, an 11% increase on the prior year.
Strategic focus
– Autotrader is transitioning from a listings marketplace into an active, AI-powered platform, embedding Autotrader Intelligence into every layer of buying, selling and managing vehicles in the UK.
– Built on scalable cloud architecture, Autotrader Intelligence combines bespoke integrations and decades of proprietary data, with 57 specialised AI models. By simplifying complex workflows, our platform will drive confidence, efficiency and ultimately, improved outcomes for all.
– For car buyers and their agents: Delivering conversational AI search, personalised shortlisting, verified vehicle history and seamless tools moving customers closer to buying through Deal Builder, where we have more than doubled the number of retailers during the period.
– For retailer customers: Transforming our Retailer Portal via Autotrader Intelligence into an AI-native retailer operating system providing recommended actions all the way through to full automation across inventory management, listing creation, dynamic pricing and lead triage.
– For vehicle manufacturers (‘OEMs’): Providing a measurable, high-attribution sales channel and whole-of-market digital retailing experience for new cars and electric vehicles (‘EVs’) using Autotrader Intelligence models.
– We expect the ongoing investment in Autotrader Intelligence to be self-funded, ensuring consistency in our long-term margins.
Nathan Coe, Chief Executive Officer of Autotrader, said:
“Our first-half performance reflects the resilience of our business and the strength of our trusted brand with UK car buyers, who spend 12 times more time on Autotrader than our nearest competitor.
“I’m excited by the transformation underway as we evolve Autotrader into an AI-native platform. We believe AI represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve how consumers buy cars and how retailers and manufacturers operate, delivering even greater value for all. By combining our unique proprietary data with AI through Autotrader Intelligence, we’re delivering workflow improvements and new tools for retailers, enhanced experiences for consumers, whilst further strengthening our competitive position.
“With the first half in line with our expectations and accelerating revenue growth in the second half, we remain confident in our outlook for the full year, as well as our long-term ability to deliver value for car buyers, customers and shareholders.”
2027 Outlook
H1 has been as expected.
We maintain that Group operating profit will be £395m – £415m for financial year 2027, with accelerating revenue growth in the second half.
Analyst presentation
A presentation for analysts will be held in person at the offices of Deutsche Numis and via audio webcast and conference call at 9.30am, Thursday 5 November 2026. Details below:
Audio webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/nihtkqvc
Conference call registration: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIce125958c3f74f3aa1ae1a70b6aa5d15
