ACV said its fourth-quarter revenue surged 86%

ACV Auctions Inc. said Wednesday that its revenue surged 86 percent to a little more than $100 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and that it gained dealer partners, but it posted a net loss.

The Buffalo, N.Y.-based digital wholesaling firm's CEO George Chamoun said the company achieved its goal of nationwide marketplace coverage. Despite the gains, ACV posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $26.3 million, compared with a loss of about $12.3 million in the year-earlier period. ACV's total operating expenses in the fourth quarter came to almost $125.9 million.

The company said it transacted 138,565 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 35 percent from the year-earlier period, and 560,959 in the full year, up 43 percent from 2020.

Low new-vehicle inventory has stunted the number of trade-ins entering the wholesale market. That led to a "temporary contraction" in the market ACV serves, Chamoun said. But he expects the semiconductor shortage to improve in upcoming quarters, smoothing out new-vehicle production.

"The takeaway here is that while our industry is facing temporary supply constraints, ACV is gaining market share, attracting new dealers at an impressive pace and delivering strong revenue growth," Chamoun said during an earnings call with analysts.

ACV also attributed its fourth-quarter and full-year revenue performance to increased adoption of its services and products, including Max Digital — a software-as-a-service company it acquired last year — that markets an inventory management platform and other products for dealers.

Results from the company's earnings report include:

Q4 net loss: $26.3 million, compared with a $12.3 million loss in the year-earlier period

Q4 net revenue: $100.2 million, up 86 percent from a year earlier

Q4 adjusted EBITDA: $15.7 million loss, compared with an $8.2 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2020

2021 net revenue: $358.4 million, up 72 percent from a year earlier

2021 net loss: $78.2 million, compared with a $41 million loss in the year-earlier period

2021 adjusted EBITDA: $44.1 million loss, compared with a $30.8 million loss in the year-earlier period