Credit Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:CACC) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Doug Busk: The growth rates by month in the quarter were 39% in January, 27% in February and 12% in March. I think a fair amount of the variability in growth rates during the quarter was primarily due to differences in the strength of prior year capitals. We had a bit of a soft January in 2022, February and March were certainly better. So I think that prior year comps had a fair amount to do with it.

Robert Wildhack: Okay. And then industry-wide, I think, things looked maybe the most stretched in 2021 and then maybe into early 2022. So coming up on 18 months from that point and we see a lot of the headlines around delinquencies and losses in subprime auto broadly, to what degree do you think that your competitors and the industry have rationalized their underwriting?

Doug Busk: The industry is very fragmented. So I don’t have tremendous insight into how each industry participant is reacting to a more challenging credit environment. I can look at the industry statistics as published by Auto Count and see that more people appear to be tapping on the brakes that are pushing on the gas. So that would lead me to believe that most at least of the top 20 industry participants are getting incrementally more conservative.

Robert Wildhack: Okay. Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from John Rowan with Janney. Your line is open.

John Rowan: Good afternoon, guys.

Doug Busk: Hi, John.

John Rowan: Doug, you just gave a bunch of numbers regarding kind of the month-by-month. I think it was unit volume, correct? Was there any change in underwriting that, obviously, you mentioned the year-over-year comps and that’s fine, but you did have a relatively big decrease in the advance rate here for the quarter. I am wondering if there was any coincidence with a change in the advance rate and also the slower number for March?

Doug Busk: We had a better number in April. I mean if you adjust for the number of days it was 18%. So April was better than March. I mean as you rightly point out, the advance rate was lower in Q4, and it was lower in Q1. In general, the less you pay the dealers of origination, the fewer loans you originate, so that likely had some impact on volume.

John Rowan: Okay. And then, obviously, the advance — your initial advance rate for the year is 21%. It looks like it’s the highest number since 2016. I am wondering if — maybe it’s in the press release, haven’t gone through to yet, but is there an initial advance rate for April?

Doug Busk: No. There is at the release.

John Rowan: Okay. And then just, lastly, any updates on the CFPB and New York AG issue?

Doug Busk: No. The latest and greatest is in the 10-Q that we filed today.

John Rowan: Okay. So it was just — from what was in there, it’s just a motion to dismiss the whole case, correct?

Doug Busk: Correct.

John Rowan: Okay. All right. Thank you.

Doug Busk: Yeah.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Ray Cheesman with Anfield Capital Management. Your line is open.