1
Q3 2012 Earnings Review
October 23, 2012
Exhibit 99.2
Sonic Automotive, Inc.


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
2
Forward-Looking Statements
This presentation contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements relate to future events, are not historical facts and
are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and
other future conditions.  These statements can generally be identified by lead-in words such as
“believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “foresee”, “may” , “will” and other similar words. 
Statements that describe our Company’s objectives, plans or goals are also forward-looking
statements.  Examples of such forward-looking information we may be discussing in this presentation
include, without limitation, further implementation of our operational strategies and playbooks, future
debt retirement, capital expenditures, operating margins and revenues, inventory levels and new
vehicle industry sales volume.  
You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance,
involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.  These risks and uncertainties include,
among other things, (a) economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, (b) the success of
our operational strategies, (c) our relationships with the automobile manufacturers and (d) new and
pre-owned vehicle sales volume. These risks and uncertainties, as well as additional factors that could
affect our forward-looking statements, are described in our Form 10-K for the year ending December
31, 2011 and our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2012. 
These forward-looking statements, risks, uncertainties and additional factors speak only as of the date
of this presentation.  We undertake no obligation to update any such statements.


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
3
Sonic Automotive Q3 2012
o
Quarter in Review
o
Financial Results
o
Operations Recap
o
Summary and Outlook


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
4
Overall Results
Revenue
Growth
up
11.7%
New
retail
vehicle
revenue
up
20.2%
-
volume
up
25.2%
-
exceeds industry retail volume growth
Pre-owned gross up 7.1%
F&I revenue up 18.0%
Fixed Operations gross up 1.3% on one less selling day
(up 3.3% when adjusted for selling days)
SG&A
at
77.6%
-
improvement
of
30
bps
versus
PY
Qtr.
Adjusted income from continuing operations of $23.1 million,
up 14.9% 
Q3 2012 adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations was
$0.40
per
share
vs.
$0.34
in
prior
year
period
up
18%
* - Adjusted results exclude a pretax charge of $18.5M (after-tax of $11.3M), or $0.19 per diluted share  related to debt repurchase activity.


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
5
B/(W) than Q3 2011
(amounts in millions, except per share data)
Q3 2012
$
%
Revenue
$  2,152
$ 226
12%
Gross Profit
$ 308
$ 14
5%
Operating Profit
$ 58
$ 3
5%
Interest & Other
($ 19)
$ 3
12%
Continuing Ops:
Profit (after tax)
$ 23
$  3
15%
Diluted EPS
$ 0.40
$ 0.06
18%
SG&A as % of Gross
77.6%
30 bps
Discontinued Ops Profit (after tax)
($1.8)
($1.1)
* - Adjusted results exclude a pretax charge of $18.5M (after-tax of $11.3M), or $0.19 per diluted share  related to debt repurchase activity.
Adjusted Results *


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
30 bps Improvement from PY Qtr
Tracking Lower than Full Year Target
6
Q3 2011
Q3 2012
YTD Q3
2012
TARGET
77.9%
77.6%
77.7%
78.0%
SG&A to Gross


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
(amounts in millions)
YTD
Q3
2012
Estimated
2012
Real Estate
Acquisitions
$ 4.8
$ 14.5
All Other
Cap Ex
50.4
99.4
Subtotal
$ 55.2
$ 113.9
Less: Mortgage Funding
(10.7)
(25.7)
Total
Cash
Used
Cap
Ex
$
44.5
$
88.2
7
Capital Spending


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
8
Compliant with all Covenants
Covenant
Actual Q3
2012
Liquidity Ratio
>= 1.05
1.21
Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio
>= 1.20
1.66
Total Lease Adjusted Leverage
Ratio
<= 5.50
4.01
Debt Covenants


9
$172.5M
Convert
$210M
9% Bond
$210M
9% Bond
$200M
7% Bond
AFTER
Maturity Profile
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2022
2013
2015
2016
2017
2018
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
BEFORE


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Share Count Changes
(shares in thousands)
Weighting
Basic
5% Notes
Other
Diluted
Weighted Average
Shares –
6/30/2012
52,593
10,535
378
63,506
Issue 4,075 Shares
67%
2,658
-
-
2,658
Redeem 5% Notes
(67%)
-
(7,001)
-
(7,001)
804 Share Repurchases
30%
(243)
(243)
Other
61
-
30
91
Weighted Average
Shares –
9/30/2012
55,069
3,534
408
59,011
Net Reduction in Dilution of
4.5M Shares
$116M of Share Repurchase
Authorization Remaining at
End of Q3 2012


New Vehicles
11
Includes
Fleet
(1)
(1) Source: JD Power
25.2%
21.3%
15.1%
Sonic -
Retail
Industry -
Retail
SAAR
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Q3 2012
Q3 2011
B/(W)
Retail Revenue
$1.2 billion
$1.0 billion
20.2%
Retail Volume
33,737
26,955
25.2%
Selling Price
$ 34,741
$ 36,166
(3.9%)
Gross Margin %
5.7%
6.7%
(100 bps)
GPU
$ 1,987
$ 2,429
($442)
Retail Gross Profit
$ 67 million
$ 65 million
2.4%


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Pre-Owned Retail Vehicles
Q3 2012
Q3 2011
B/(W)
Retail Volume
27,018
25,334
6.6%
Revenue
$534 million
$509 million
4.8%
Pre-Owned Related Gross*
$
81 million
$
76 million
$
5 million
12
* -
Includes: pre-owned vehicle + reconditioning + F&I gross
Continue to make
progress toward
our goal of 100
per store per
month
Q3 2012
Q3 2011
87
82
Used Retail Sales Per Store


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
13
B/(W) than Q3
2011
(amounts in millions)
Q3 2012
$
%
Revenue
$ 291
$ 4
1.3%
Gross Profit
$ 142
$ 2
1.7%
Fixed Operations
Gross Up
3.3% when
adjusted for
one less
fixed ops
day
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Q3 YOY Gross Profit Change Breakdown:
Customer Pay Up 1.1%
Whsl.
Parts
-
flat
Internal & Sublet Up 9.7%
Warranty Down 2.7%


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Grow the Base Business
-
Developing
Predictable
-
Repeatable
-
Sustainable
Business
Model
Playbooks -
Uniform Best Practices
People -
Culture of Customer-Centric Organization
Systems -
Stable, Flexible and Secure Delivery Systems
Data -
Use to Drive Business Decisions Throughout the Organization
-
Grow Through Knowledge in Core Competencies
Own Our Properties
-
Create Value on the Balance Sheet
-
Lower Cost Option
Improve Capital Structure
-
Buy Back Stock Opportunistically
-
Manage Debt Levels
-
Offer Dividend to Reward Shareholders
Predictable
Repeatable
Sustainable
Predictable
Repeatable
Sustainable
Strategic Focus
Strategic Focus


15
Summary and Outlook
Double-digit overall revenue growth
Anticipate Q4 retail GPU to improve from Q3 levels
Luxury mix of stores contributes to higher Q4 performance
Automotive retail industry outlook continues to remain
positive
Full year 2012 adjusted continuing operations diluted
earnings per share guidance of $1.65 -
$1.70 (1).
(1) -
Excluded from this range are costs associated with retiring outstanding 5.0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (“5% Notes”) and tax benefits
related to the settlement of certain tax matters in the second and third quarters of 2012 which total a net charge of $0.16 per diluted share.
Sonic Automotive, Inc.


16
Sonic Automotive, Inc.


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information
17
Three Months Ended September 30,
Adjusted 2012 B/(W)
2012
2011
than Adjusted 2011
($ in millions, shares in
thousands, except per share data)
As
Reported
Adjustments
As
Adjusted
As
Reported
Adjustments
As
Adjusted
$
%
Revenues
2,152.2
$     
-
$                        
2,152.2
$     
1,926.1
$     
-
$                        
1,926.1
$     
226.1
$                
11.7%
Gross profit
307.7
          
-
                          
307.7
          
293.4
          
-
                          
293.4
          
14.3
                    
4.9%
Gross margin
14.3%
-
15.2%
-
0 bps
SG&A
(238.7)
         
-
                          
(238.7)
         
(228.6)
         
-
                          
(228.6)
         
(10.1)
                   
4.4%
SG&A as % of gross profit
77.6%
-
77.9%
-
0 bps
Impairment charges
-
                   
-
                          
-
                   
(0.1)
              
-
                          
(0.1)
              
0.1
                      
(100.0%)
Depreciation and amortization
(11.4)
           
-
                          
(11.4)
           
(10.1)
           
-
                          
(10.1)
           
(1.2)
                     
12.2%
Operating income
57.6
            
-
                          
57.6
            
54.6
            
-
                          
54.6
            
3.0
                      
5.5%
Operating margin
2.7%
-
2.8%
-
0 bps
Interest expense, floor plan
(4.9)
              
-
                          
(4.9)
              
(4.2)
              
-
                          
(4.2)
              
(0.7)
                     
16.7%
Interest expense, other, net
(15.7)
           
1.2
                      
(1)
(14.5)
           
(16.9)
           
-
                          
(16.9)
           
2.4
                      
(14.2%)
Other income (expense), net
(17.3)
           
17.3
                    
(2)
0.0
               
(0.8)
              
-
                          
(0.8)
              
0.9
                      
(105.5%)
Income (loss) from continuing operations
11.8
            
11.3
                    
23.1
            
20.1
            
-
                          
20.1
            
3.0
                      
14.9%
Income (loss) from discontinued operations
(1.8)
              
-
                          
(1.8)
              
(0.7)
              
-
                          
(0.7)
              
(1.1)
                     
153.2%
Net income (loss)
10.0
$          
11.3
$                  
21.3
$          
19.4
$          
-
$                        
19.4
$          
1.9
$                    
9.9%
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Earnings (loss) per share
   from continuing operations
0.21
$          
0.19
$                  
0.40
$          
0.34
$          
-
$                    
0.34
$          
0.06
$                  
17.6%
Earnings (loss) per share from
   discontinued operations
(0.03)
           
-
                      
(0.03)
           
(0.01)
           
-
                      
(0.01)
           
(0.02)
                   
200.0%
Earnings (loss) per common share
0.18
$          
0.19
$                  
0.37
$          
0.33
$          
-
$                    
0.33
$          
0.04
$                  
12.1%
Weighted average shares outstanding
59,011
        
59,011
        
65,517
        
65,517
        
(1) Represents double-carry interest in July 2012.
(2) Represents debt extinguishment charges related to the 5% Convertible Notes.


Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information
Three Months Ended September 30, 2012
Continuing Operations
Discontinued Operations
Total Operations
($ in millions, shares in
thousands, except per share data)
Net Income
(Loss):
Numerator
Share
Count:
Denominator
Diluted
EPS
Net Income
(Loss):
Numerator
Share
Count:
Denominator
Diluted
EPS
Net Income
(Loss):
Numerator
Share
Count:
Denominator
Diluted
EPS
Reported basic
11.8
$               
55,069
                 
(1.8)
$                
55,069
                 
10.0
$               
55,069
                 
Effect of dilutive securities:
Two class method
(0.2)
                  
-
                           
-
                     
-
                           
(0.2)
                  
-
                           
Contingently convertible debt
0.6
                   
3,534
                   
-
                     
3,534
                   
0.6
                   
3,534
                   
Stock compensation plans
-
                     
408
                      
-
                     
408
                      
-
                     
408
                      
Reported diluted
12.2
                 
59,011
                 
0.21
$      
(1.8)
                  
59,011
                 
(0.03)
$    
10.4
                 
59,011
                 
0.18
$      
Adjustments (tax-effected):
Double-carry interest
0.7
                   
-
                           
-
                     
-
                           
0.7
                   
-
                           
Debt extinguishment charges
10.6
                 
-
                           
-
                     
-
                           
10.6
                 
-
                           
Subtotal
23.5
                 
59,011
                 
0.40
$      
(1.8)
                  
59,011
                 
(0.03)
$    
21.7
                 
59,011
                 
0.37
$      
Effect of dilutive securities:
Two class method
(0.1)
                  
-
                           
-
                     
-
                           
(0.1)
                  
-
                           
Adjusted diluted
23.4
$               
59,011
                 
0.40
$      
(1.8)
$                
59,011
                 
(0.03)
$    
21.6
$               
59,011
                 
0.37
$      
18