The Data Room
Every number behind the case - sourced, derived, or omitted.
These are the verified figures this site builds its argument from. Each carries a source and a status (Verified / Derived). Where a figure is not yet sourced, it does not appear here.
What a 63% operating margin means in context
Sources
- Auto Trader: Auto Trader FY26 results, 29 May 2026 (derived: operating profit £392.7m ÷ revenue £624.3m). Status: Derived from Verified inputs.
- Microsoft: SEC 8-K FY2025 (op income $128.5bn ÷ revenue $281.7bn). Status: Verified.
- Apple: SEC 10-K FY2025 (op income $133.05bn ÷ revenue $416.16bn). Status: Verified.
- Alphabet: Q4/FY2025 earnings release (consolidated). Status: Verified.
- Tesco: Tesco Annual Report 2025/26 (adjusted operating profit £3,152m). Status: Verified.
- Independent dealer: Statista - UK motor dealer net profit as % of sales. Status: Verified.
Caveat 1
These margins are illustrative of pricing power - not an accounting equivalence. Auto Trader is a software marketplace; the others are hardware, consumer tech, and grocery. The comparison shows what a structurally protected market position looks like relative to businesses most people consider highly profitable.
Caveat 2
Tesco's figure is the adjusted operating margin.
Caveat 3
The independent dealer figure is pre-2020 Statista data. It is directionally robust and widely cited; a fresher trade-body figure will replace it when sourced.
Auto Trader's operating margin (~63%) is higher than Microsoft's (45.6%), Apple's (32.0%), and Google's (31.6%). The forecourt paying that bill keeps around 1p in the pound of net profit. The platform that lists the car out-earns the business that sources, preps, and sells it.
The Dealer Tax Breakdown
~£35,940
per forecourt, per year, to advertise on Auto Trader
- Working
- £2,995/month (ARPR, FY26) × 12
- Source
- Auto Trader FY26 results, 29 May 2026.
- Status
- Derived.
~63p
of every £1 paid is Auto Trader operating profit
- Working
- Operating profit £392.7m ÷ revenue £624.3m
- Source
- Auto Trader FY26 results.
- Status
- Derived.
~1%
net margin kept by the independent dealer
- Source
- Statista (UK motor dealer net profit %, 2018-2020).
- Status
- Verified.
Pre-2020 data. Directionally consistent with other trade reporting; a fresher figure will replace this when sourced.
Putting £35,940 in context
Item A - Per forecourt, one decade
At today's rate, one forecourt hands Auto Trader approximately £359,000 over a decade just to be listed. If the average rate of increase of recent years continues, that figure is closer to £520,000.
- Derived (£35,940 × 10, held flat).
- Derived / Illustrative - labelled as a projection, not a fact. Based on ~7%/yr CAGR, 2023-2026.
Item B - Industry-wide, one year
Across the 13,942 forecourts currently on the platform, the industry pays approximately £501m a year in advertising costs to Auto Trader alone.
Derived (13,942 × £35,940). Consistent with Auto Trader's own reported retailer revenue of £501.1m (FY26 results) - a reconciliation check.
Item C - The tool as a share of the bill
The Dealers tool costs £79-£349/month - approximately 3-12% of the average Auto Trader bill. It targets the operating efficiency the chain taxes, not the advertising cost itself.
Derived (£79-£349 ÷ £2,995/month, AT FY26 ARPR).
What you recover
What you recover with the tool will depend on your forecourt. We will publish real outcomes once we have pilot data. The framing here is affordability - what the bill costs against what the tool costs, not a projected saving.
The bill, the imbalance, the response.
- Insight
- The platform that lists your cars earns ~63p of operating profit for every £1 you pay it - more than Microsoft, Apple, or Google earn per pound of revenue. The business that sources, preps, and sells the car earns around 1p.
- Implication
- That is a structural imbalance. It does not change without either a different advertising channel or better operating leverage on the forecourt.
- What it costs you
- ~£35,940 a year. A decade from now, at today's rate, ~£359,000. Across the industry, ~£501m a year.