Sonic Automotive advertising spend, FY2025

Sonic Automotive (SAH) reported $101M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025. That is 0.7% of revenue of $15.2B. Up 19.8% from FY2024.

Ad spend, FY2025
$101M
year ended Dec 31, 2025
Change vs prior year
+19.8%
vs FY2024
Share of revenue
0.7%
of $15.2B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#333
of 336 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 1.6x its FY2015 level ($61.6M), in line with revenue (1.6x).
  • FY2025 is the highest year on file, going back to FY2010.
  • Largest increase +54.9% in FY2022; largest cut -30.6% in FY2020.
  • Ad spend is 0.7% of revenue, up from 0.4% in FY2020.
  • Sonic Automotive spends more on advertising than 1% of the 336 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is below the median of 5.2%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $50M $100M $150M FY2010 (ended 2010-12-31): $43.4M FY2011 (ended 2011-12-31): $49.1M 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-12-31): $50.3M FY2013 (ended 2013-12-31): $56.6M 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-12-31): $57.4M FY2015 (ended 2015-12-31): $61.6M 2015 FY2016 (ended 2016-12-31): $61.7M FY2017 (ended 2017-12-31): $61.6M 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-12-31): $63.1M FY2019 (ended 2019-12-31): $60.8M 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): $42.2M FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): $61.6M 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): $95.4M FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): $92.2M 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): $84.5M FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): $101M 2025 $101M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 0.6% 0.8% FY2010 (ended 2010-12-31): 0.7% FY2011 (ended 2011-12-31): 0.7% 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-12-31): 0.6% FY2013 (ended 2013-12-31): 0.6% 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-12-31): 0.6% FY2015 (ended 2015-12-31): 0.6% 2015 FY2016 (ended 2016-12-31): 0.6% FY2017 (ended 2017-12-31): 0.6% 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-12-31): 0.6% FY2019 (ended 2019-12-31): 0.6% 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): 0.4% FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): 0.5% 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): 0.7% FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): 0.6% 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): 0.6% FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): 0.7% 2025 0.7%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2025 Dec 31, 2025 $101M +19.8% $15.2B 0.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 23, 2026
FY2024 Dec 31, 2024 $84.5M -8.4% $14.2B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 23, 2026
FY2023 Dec 31, 2023 $92.2M -3.4% $14.4B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 23, 2026
FY2022 Dec 31, 2022 $95.4M +54.9% $14B 0.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 19, 2025
FY2021 Dec 31, 2021 $61.6M +46.0% $12.4B 0.5% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 22, 2024
FY2020 Dec 31, 2020 $42.2M -30.6% $9.8B 0.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 17, 2023
FY2019 Dec 31, 2019 $60.8M -3.6% $10.5B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 25, 2022
FY2018 Dec 31, 2018 $63.1M +2.4% $10B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 23, 2021
FY2017 Dec 31, 2017 $61.6M -0.2% $9.9B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 21, 2020
FY2016 Dec 31, 2016 $61.7M +0.2% $9.7B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 21, 2019
FY2015 Dec 31, 2015 $61.6M +7.3% $9.6B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2018
FY2014 Dec 31, 2014 $57.4M +1.4% $9.2B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2017
FY2013 Dec 31, 2013 $56.6M +12.5% $8.8B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 26, 2016
FY2012 Dec 31, 2012 $50.3M +2.4% $8.4B 0.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2015
FY2011 Dec 31, 2011 $49.1M +13.1% $7.5B 0.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 3, 2014
FY2010 Dec 31, 2010 $43.4M n/a $6.6B 0.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 26, 2013

What the figure is

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to Sonic Automotive in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
329 Reddit $102M 4.6% n/a FY2025
330 Interactive Brokers Group $102M 1.6% +52.2% FY2025
331 Churchill Downs $102M 3.5% +12.3% FY2025
332 AutoZone $101M 0.5% -7.6% FY2026
333 Sonic Automotive $101M 0.7% +19.8% FY2025
334 A. O. Smith $101M 2.6% +0.8% FY2025
335 Alaska Air Group $101M 0.7% +4.1% FY2025

Full ranking of 336 companies · Biggest increases #74 · Lowest ad-to-revenue #18 · New $100M spenders #23

Questions

How much does Sonic Automotive spend on advertising?

Sonic Automotive spent $101M on advertising in fiscal 2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025, according to its 10-K filed Feb 23, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does Sonic Automotive spend on advertising?

0.7% of revenue in fiscal 2025 ($101M of $15.2B). The median across the 336 companies tracked is 5.2%.

Is Sonic Automotive spending more on advertising?

Yes. Ad spend rose 19.8% in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024.

How does Sonic Automotive rank by advertising spend?

#333 of 336 US-listed companies with $100M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does Sonic Automotive's advertising figure include?

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2025, filed Feb 23, 2026
Accession number
0001628280-26-010570
Company
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC, CIK 1043509, SIC 5500 (Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
Sonic Automotive advertising spend, FY2010-FY2025. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Feb 23, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/sonic-automotive/advertising-spend/
Download
CSV, all years · CSV, all 336 companies