Issue calendar
The Clairmont Automotive Report
Thursday, October 29, 2026
Issue calendar
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In this issue
Each item is a short take. Open a story for the full summary, sources and any chart.
Auto industry
Honda dealer network knocked offline
Honda pulled its Interactive Network for Honda and Acura stores offline Tuesday after a cybersecurity incident.
Read the full summary →Ford raises low end of outlook
Q3 revenue slipped 2% to $49.5B, and net income was $2.0B. Adjusted EBIT came to $2.7B (5.4% margin), adjusted EPS was $0.49, and adjusted free cash flow was $4.7B on 9% lower wholesales.
Read the full summary →VW swings to deep Q3 loss
Q3 revenue fell 6.3% to $84.3B (€75.3B), and the operating loss was $6.56B (€5.86B). Most of the $9.74B (€8.7B) in nine-month special items hit this quarter, led by a $7.17B (€6.4B) Porsche goodwill write-down.
Read the full summary →Hyundai trims 2026 targets
Q3 operating profit rose 5.5% to $2.02B (₩2.68T) on revenue of $34.04B (₩45.11T, down 3.4%).
Read the full summary →Carvana posts another record
Q3 retail units rose 39% to 217,385, revenue grew 42% to $8.04B, net income was $483M and adjusted EBITDA was $800M.
Read the full summary →Sonic: record revenue, softer EPS
Q3 revenue hit a record $4.0B. Adjusted EPS fell 15% to $1.30 as same-store new units dropped 7% and SG&A rose to 75.4% of gross profit.
Read the full summary →Honda feeds CPO through fleet
Honda has raised fleet sales 54%, mostly by paying dealers incentives to add vehicles to their service-loaner fleets.
Read the full summary →Honda presses on Chinese imports
An American Honda executive urged the US, Canada and Mexico to align on Chinese vehicles in the USMCA review.
Read the full summary →F&I
Sonic F&I per unit edges up
Same-store franchised F&I gross profit was flat, while F&I per unit rose 2% to $2,630. At EchoPark, F&I revenue rose 4% to $54.9M, but total gross profit per unit fell 12% to $2,972, per Sonic Automotive.
Read the full summary →Ford Credit profit jumps
Ford Credit's Q3 pretax earnings rose 27% to $803M. Derivative mark-to-market gains, better financing margins and firmer used-vehicle prices drove the gain.
Read the full summary →Fed holds, two members want a hike
The FOMC kept the federal funds target at 3.75%–4.00% in a 10–2 vote. Governor Cook and Cleveland Fed President Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase, and the committee said inflation remains elevated.
Read the full summary →Earnings ahead
Credit Acceptance reports Q3 after today's close, with a webcast at 5 p.m. ET, per Credit Acceptance.
Read the full summary →