Sonic Automotive, Inc.

What does Sonic Automotive own?
Sonic owns 111 franchised dealerships, 18 EchoPark used-car stores, and 14 powersports locations, plus collision repair centers, across 18 states. It owns the retail businesses, not the vehicle brands they sell.

Is Sonic Automotive publicly traded?
Yes. Class A shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker SAH. The company is an S&P 600 and Russell 2000 component.

Who founded Sonic Automotive?
O. Bruton Smith, the motorsports and retail entrepreneur who also founded Speedway Motorsports, launched the company and took it public in November 1997.

Who controls Sonic Automotive?
The Smith family, through Class B super-voting shares holding more than 80 percent of voting power. David Bruton Smith serves as chairman and CEO.

What is EchoPark?
EchoPark is Sonic's standalone used-car retail brand, launched in Denver in 2014, selling nearly-new pre-owned vehicles at fixed no-haggle prices through 18 stores in 10 states.

How much revenue does Sonic Automotive generate?
A record $15.2 billion in FY2025, up 7 percent, with trailing twelve-month revenue of approximately $15.5 billion through Q3 2026.

Where is Sonic Automotive headquartered?
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

O. Bruton Smith built Sonic from his Charlotte-area dealership group. He was already a notable figure in motorsports as the founder of Speedway Motorsports, the company behind Charlotte Motor Speedway and other NASCAR venues.

Sonic incorporated in Delaware in 1997 and went public on the NYSE that November with 20 stores representing 15 brands. It joined a wave of late-1990s dealership consolidators, including AutoNation and Lithia, rolling up franchised stores into a national platform.

Through the 2000s and 2010s the company expanded its franchised footprint across the Southeast and beyond, while building the high-margin fixed operations business that stabilizes dealership economics through sales cycles.

EchoPark, the standalone used-car concept, launched in Denver in late 2014 with a hub-and-spoke store model and no-haggle pricing. It grew to a national chain before pandemic-era used-car market disruption forced a pullback in store openings, a pause that lasted until the company announced plans to resume growth with two additional locations by the end of 2026.

O. Bruton Smith died in 2022, leaving David Bruton Smith as chairman and CEO. The powersports segment, built through dealership acquisitions, became the third reporting segment as the company diversified beyond cars and light trucks.

FY2025 closed with record revenue across all three segments and EchoPark's strongest profitability to date: segment income of $28.1 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $49.2 million.

The company's exposure is operational rather than certification-based: dealership facilities, collision repair shops, and a large employed sales and service workforce.

Sonic publishes ESG reporting covering workforce, community, and governance metrics. Its collision business handles regulated materials including paints and solvents under standard environmental compliance regimes. No independent sustainability certification applies to automotive retail.

Dual-class control: The Smith family's super-voting stake, over 80 percent of voting power on roughly a third of the equity, is a standing governance consideration for minority shareholders.

Consumer-facing litigation: Like all large dealership groups, Sonic periodically faces consumer litigation over sales practices, pricing disclosures, and service disputes, matters typical of the category rather than company-specific findings.

FY2025 earnings decline: The 45 percent net income drop, driven by charges taken during the year, drew investor questions even as revenue and gross profit set records.