ACV Auctions

ACVA

Auto - Dealerships · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$7.45

-0.18 (-2.36%)

Market Cap

$1.30B

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Share count rising — dilution

+9.3% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 156.1M (2021) → 170.6M (2025)

ACV Auctions runs an online marketplace where car dealerships buy and sell used vehicles from each other. Instead of driving cars to a physical auction lot, dealers can list and bid on vehicles digitally through ACV's platform. The company also offers data and inspection services to help dealers understand a car's condition before buying it.

ACV makes money by charging fees on each vehicle sold through its marketplace, plus fees for ancillary services like vehicle inspections, transportation, and financing. It operates primarily in the United States and has grown to process hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually. Its competitive edge comes from its network effect — the more dealers that use the platform, the more useful it becomes for everyone. However, the company is not yet profitable, and its main challenge is reaching the scale needed to turn its negative operating margins into consistent earnings while competing against established players like OPENLANE.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+11.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+30.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

6.3%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$341M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

ACV Auctions is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 12%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

60.9%

Premium pricing power — 60.9% gross margin

Operating Margin

-4.5%

Losing money on operations — -4.5%

ROCE

-1.5%

Weak — -1.5% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+15.9%

Fast-growing sales (15.9% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

—

Data not available

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

—

Data not available

FCF Margin

7.4%

Modest free cash flow (7.4%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.46

Conservative — low debt load (0.46)

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

—

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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