At a glance
Credit Acceptance Corporation is worth $5.52B, about 15 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 7.2% to $2.32B in fiscal 2025, with 18.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 6.8% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $3.50B buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +10.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −2.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 46.1% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 33.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months and 45 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Credit Acceptance, a Michigan company founded in 1972, provides auto financing that lets car dealers make sales to shoppers with poor or limited credit. In 2025, 79.5% of the loans assigned to it, by number, went to borrowers with a FICO score (a widely used credit score) below 650 or no score. The dealer writes each loan and assigns it to Credit Acceptance, which collects the payments.
It works through two programs. Under the Portfolio Program, it pays the dealer a cash advance up front and cannot demand that money back unless the dealer defaults on its agreement. Collections on the dealer's loans first cover collection costs and a servicing fee, generally 20% of collections, then repay the advance; anything left goes to the dealer. Under the Purchase Program, it pays the dealer once to purchase the loan outright and keeps everything collected. In 2025 the Portfolio Program accounted for 74.2% of loans by number and the Purchase Program 25.8%.
It reports one business segment. In 2025, finance charges (interest and fees on its loans) made up 92.4% of revenue; premiums from reinsuring vehicle service contracts, a type of repair coverage, added 4.1%; other income was 3.5%. Revenue reached $2.32 billion. It had 15,745 active dealers, out of a US target market of about 60,000.
Price history
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CACC +10.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $594.6M, up 2.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $-56.6M (-152.3%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.32B (+7.2% year over year; +6.8% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 18.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +6.8% good |
|---|---|
| Return on equity | 27.8% good |
| Net income / revenue | 18.3% watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.67B | $421.0M | — |
| FY2021 | $1.86B | $958.3M | — |
| FY2022 | $1.83B | $535.8M | — |
| FY2023 | $1.90B | $286.1M | — |
| FY2024 | $2.16B | $247.9M | — |
| FY2025 | $2.32B | $423.9M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $5.52B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 15 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Credit Acceptance’s market value went from $4.42B at the end of 2016 to $5.52B on Oct 28, 2026, up 25%; since the end of 2025 it is up 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $5.52B | +12.9% |
| 2025 | $4.89B | -14.0% |
| 2024 | $5.69B | -15.1% |
| 2023 | $6.69B | +9.2% |
| 2022 | $6.13B | -38.7% |
| 2021 | $10.00B | +63.7% |
| 2020 | $6.11B | -26.5% |
| 2019 | $8.31B | +12.8% |
| 2018 | $7.37B | +18.0% |
| 2017 | $6.25B | +41.3% |
| 2016 | $4.42B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CACC price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +22.9% | +10.3% | +10.4% | -2.0% | +11.5% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +22.9% |
| 2025 | -5.5% |
| 2024 | -11.9% |
| 2023 | +12.3% |
| 2022 | -31.0% |
| 2021 | +98.7% |
| 2020 | -21.8% |
| 2019 | +15.9% |
| 2018 | +18.0% |
| 2017 | +48.7% |
| 2016 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | +56.9% |
| 2014 | +4.9% |
| 2013 | +27.8% |
| 2012 | +23.6% |
| 2011 | +31.1% |
| 2010 | +49.1% |
| 2009 | +207.3% |
| 2008 | -33.7% |
| 2007 | -38.0% |
| 2006 | +107.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 23.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 61.4%, back to its old high 9.5 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 46.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 46.1%, back to its old high 2.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 32.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 33.7%, back to its old high 44.7 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 116 sales ($37.8M), 93 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2026 | Jonathan Lum Chief Operating Officer | sell (plan) | $3.6M |
| May 29, 2026 | Jonathan Lum Chief Operating Officer | sell (plan) | $2.9M |
| May 29, 2026 | Kenneth Booth Director | sell (plan) | $2.3M |
| Jun 24, 2026 | Erin J Kerber Chief Legal Officer | sell (plan) | $1.6M |
| Jun 24, 2026 | Erin J Kerber Chief Legal Officer | sell (plan) | $1.4M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| John P. Neary, not individually but solely as a co-trustee of the Marital Trust U/A Donald A. Foss Trust January 16, 1981 | 6.3% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 6% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Boston Partners | 5.09% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. | 4.9% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in CACC
| JMID Janus Henderson Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF | 1.54% |
| APUE ActivePassive U.S. Equity ETF | 0.29% |
| JHSC John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF | 0.21% |
| FNDA Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF | 0.19% |
| PRFZ Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF | 0.18% |
| BKSE BNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF | 0.18% |
| FLDZ RiverNorth Patriot ETF | 0.18% |
| DFAS Dimensional U.S. Small Cap ETF | 0.15% |
What could go wrong
- Collections may fall short of forecasts. Its dealer payments rest on forecasts of what weak-credit borrowers will repay and what repossessed cars will fetch. Missed forecasts could hurt results; it set aside $616.1 million for expected loan losses in 2025.
- Recessions hit weak-credit borrowers hardest. Losses on loans to borrowers with weak credit can rise faster than the wider auto-lending industry's in a downturn. Recessions also tend to lower vehicle values, shrinking what it recovers from repossessed cars.
- Heavy reliance on borrowed money. It funds loans largely with debt, including asset-backed securities (bonds repaid from loan collections) and secured credit lines. Losing access, a credit-rating cut or higher interest rates could squeeze growth and profits.
- Larger rivals compete for dealers and borrowers. Banks, credit unions, automakers' finance arms and dealers that lend directly compete for the same borrowers, and many are larger. Paying dealers bigger advances to win business cuts the return it expects per loan.
- Regulation, lawsuits and reputation. The company is subject to consumer-lending regulation and faces lawsuits from time to time. New rules, legal actions or harm to its reputation with dealers and borrowers could raise costs or restrict how it lends.
- A few large shareholders carry outsized influence. A small number of shareholders can significantly influence shareholder votes, and their interests may conflict with other owners'. As of June 30, 2026, a trust tied to founder Donald Foss held 6.3% of shares.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
For income and retirement investors
Credit Acceptance does not pay a dividend and paid none from fiscal 2021 through 2025. For an income investor, any cash from the holding would have to come from cashing in shares. The company instead returns cash through buybacks (repurchasing its own stock): $3.5 billion over those five years, including $725.4 million in fiscal 2025. Shares outstanding fell 28.6%, from about 14.5 million on October 25, 2021 to about 10.4 million on July 23, 2026. That lifts each remaining share's claim on profits but pays no income.
The stock has fallen hard in past downturns. From peak to low, it lost 61.4% in the 2008 financial crisis, 46.1% in the 2020 COVID crash and 33.7% in the 2022 bear market. It regained its peak 9.5 months after the 2008 low and 2.4 months after the 2020 low, but not until July 1, 2026 after the 2022 slump. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Credit Acceptance make money?
Mostly from interest and fees on car loans to people with poor or limited credit. In 2025, these finance charges made up 92.4% of revenue, premiums from reinsuring vehicle service contracts 4.1% and other income 3.5%. Dealers write the loans and assign them to the company. Under its larger Portfolio Program, it advances cash to the dealer, then keeps a servicing fee of generally 20% of collections and recovers its advance before the dealer receives anything more.
Does Credit Acceptance pay a dividend?
No. Credit Acceptance does not pay a dividend and paid none from fiscal 2021 through 2025. It returns cash by repurchasing its own shares instead, spending $3.5 billion on buybacks over those five years, including $725.4 million in fiscal 2025. Shares outstanding fell 28.6% between October 25, 2021 and July 23, 2026. For income investors, that means any return depends on the share price rather than regular payments.
Is Credit Acceptance a subprime lender?
Largely, yes. Most of its borrowers have weak or limited credit, a market the company calls non-prime. In 2025, 79.5% of the loans assigned to it, by number, came from borrowers with FICO credit scores below 650 or no score, compared with 80.6% in 2024 and 80.9% in 2023. The company says these loans carry higher risks of late payment, default and repossession, so its results depend heavily on forecasting collections accurately.
How has Credit Acceptance stock performed?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained an average of 11.5% a year over 10 years, or 198% in total, but lost an average of 2% a year over five years. It rose 10.3% over one year. Calendar-year results swing widely, from a 98.7% gain in 2021 to a 31% loss in 2022. Its deepest decline across about 21 years of price history was 66%. These are price returns.
What is Credit Acceptance's P/E ratio?
About 15 as of October 28, 2026, based on earnings of $36.38 per share for fiscal 2025. The P/E (price-to-earnings ratio) shows how many dollars investors pay for each dollar of yearly profit. The company's market value was about $5.66 billion on that date. Earnings have swung widely, from $59.52 per share in fiscal 2021 to $19.88 in fiscal 2024, so the ratio looks very different depending on the year used.