Driven Brands on July 25 divested the paid-off loan associated with its car wash business sale in the first quarter of 2025, helping to significantly boost the company’s net leverage a month after the company posted more than $550 million in revenue for Q2 2025.
The divestment totaled $113 million in cash proceeds, which was transferred to pay off all remaining term loan principal and $65 million of the drawn balance on Driven Brands’ revolving credit facility, a debt reduction that translated to a pro forma net leverage of 3.9x adjusted EBITDA, Driven Brands announced in its Q2 2025 financial results.
Pro forma net leverage ratio is a financial metric that indicates a company’s ability to service its debt obligations after a hypothetical future event, such as a merger, acquisition, divestiture or other significant transaction. The SEC defines adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA that incorporates restructuring charges, non-cash options, and restricted stock expenses.
“We continued our disciplined debt reduction strategy and achieved pro forma net leverage of 3.9x following the sale of the U.S. car wash seller note in July,” Driven Brands President and CEO Daniel Rivera said in a statement. “These results demonstrate the power of our diversified platform and our growth and cash playbook.”
In its full-year 2024 earnings announcement in February, Driven Brands announced an agreement to sell its previously owned Take 5 Car Wash business to Express Wash Operations, LLC, for $385 million.
The company also delivered $551 million in revenue during Q2, about 7% higher than Q1 2025’s $516.2 million mark and 6% more than Q2 2024. Driven Brands posted $1.63 billion in system-wide sales in Q2 2025, a year-over-year increase of about 3%. In contrast to revenue, system-wide sales cover franchise stores not owned by the parent company, translating to a higher amount than company revenue.
For at least the second quarter in a row, Take 5 Oil Change was Driven Brands’ highest-earning segment, which experienced $406.6 million in sales in company-owned and franchise stores combined, up 15% from Q2 2024’s $346.8 million in revenue.
As of June 28, the conglomerate held $2.1 billion in long-term debt, about $600 million less than Dec. 28.
Driven Brands has about 4,800 locations across 14 countries, and is the largest automotive services company in North America. Rivera officially stepped into his role as president and CEO during Q2, taking over for Jonathan Fitzpatrick, who remains on the board in the position of non-executive chair.
Brian Bradley