Dealer Agent News caught up with CEO Cindy Allen shortly after the release of StoneEagle’s Q2 and first half F&I benchmarks report and on the eve of her keynote address at the inaugural AI Dealer Agent Conference.

DAN: Cindy, what stood out to you from the latest F&I report?

Allen: Comparing the first half of this year to the first half of last year — which was kind of an anomaly in many ways — one of the things that really stuck out to me was how closely the averages tracked. We see a lot of volatility at the upper part of the funnel, but F&I has been extremely stable. It’s been that foundation of profitability for dealers. And we had the highest first half [profit per vehicle retailed] and average F&I income per dealer on record. In March of ’25, when fear over higher prices drove a lot of volume, we actually hit our highest average deals per dealer ever. And so, despite that giant spike in deal volume, first-half F&I PVR and average monthly F&I income per dealer still outpaced last year.

DAN: You mentioned volatility on the front end, where you’re seeing a loss of profit that dealers are counting on F&I to offset.

Allen: It’s a good thing we’ve had the record F&I performance because, when you look at the front-end gross, it’s a decline of nearly 30%.

DAN: Has F&I done all it can?

Allen: I think if you talk to any dealer or product provider or agent, you’re going to hear them say there is always room to grow for F&I. But today, F&I actually contributes nearly eight of every 10 gross dollars on a deal. The three core revenue streams are front gross, the reserve and the product revenue. In what other industry do you see one of three revenue streams act as a stabilizer — so much so that it’s absorbing nearly half of another revenue stream’s almost 30% decline? I just think it’s remarkable. I always talk about the way that dealers pull levers, and I think this is just a great example of how they’re able to leverage F&I to provide stability.

DAN: The Q2/H1 report finds that, since 2022, average income per service contract sold is up 14%, while average GAP income is up 18%. Those are huge increases in a really challenging market. Do you credit improved F&I training and performance or the fact that longer loan terms allow customers to buy products at a lower monthly cost?

Allen: I think our industry’s approach to F&I product sales is always evolving and it’s always improving. And so, yes, I’d say there’s a component of training and performance that plays into this. But another really critical component is what consumers are facing in their holistic financial picture. They are buying products even though the cost is going up because they’re protecting an asset whose cost is significantly increasing. And it extends beyond just service contracts and GAP. In all 12 of the categories that we track, we showed higher average income than in 2022, and 10 of those product types actually had double-digit growth. So consumers are finding some pretty amazing value across the board.

DAN: Prepaid maintenance is on your list of double-digit gainers. Couldn’t you argue that PPM could get even bigger if the F&I conversation is about budget protection?

Allen: Absolutely. Locking in today’s rates for service and parts can generate significant savings for something that really has to be done on a recurring basis. It isn’t just-in-case protection. And to your point, one way dealers are building trust with customers is making it about them and protecting their future in a very real way.

DAN: You and StoneEagle SVP BreAnna McCready are getting ready to deliver a keynote at this week’s AI Dealer Agent Conference. What do you have planned?

Allen: We’re going to have a lot of fun because both of us absolutely love AI and we use it all the time. As a technology company, we’re staying at the forefront of AI. We are in the ecosystem with nearly 10,000 dealerships and hundreds of agents and product providers — integration points and lots of different touchpoints. And so from that seat, we’re able to see the amazing opportunity that exists for agents, providers, and dealers when it comes to AI. But we’re also able to watch how those decisions and habits around the use of AI are impacting organizations that leverage it.

Our keynote is really about getting better at using AI by understanding the habits that can drive the most valuable outcomes. I think the biggest thing that we’re going to try to point back to in the session is helping people understand that the folks who are going to gain the greatest advantage from AI are not necessarily the ones who use it the most. It’ll be the ones who really know how to use it well.

DAN: Agents are power brokers in the F&I space. Why not be power brokers for AI?

Allen: For sure. Agents have already earned the trust of their dealers. When you can bring in an AI solution, you’re significantly amplifying your value. And I think agents have a golden opportunity to let AI work to drive efficiencies for them — to get them out of the minutiae of the administrative things that they do and back into being inside the dealership. Because AI is not just about getting customers to engage with technology. It’s also there to guide the human conversation. Agents can bring AI into the dealership and also use it to transform the way they do business.

Tariq Kamal is the publisher of Dealer Agent News, Auto Dealer News and AI Dealer News.