Financial research concept

Security Monitoring Dealer-Generated Account Purchases

measures cash invested in dealer-generated customer accounts and bulk account purchases during a period.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Security Monitoring Subscription Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

The authorized-dealer channel buys recurring relationships
Charge-backs shift some early cancellation risk back to the dealer
Bulk purchases are included in the same cash-flow line
Part of the Security Monitoring Subscription Economics
See It in Company Research
Continue Research

Security monitoring dealer-generated account purchases measure cash paid to acquire customer monitoring relationships from authorized dealers and other third parties.

ADT reported $596.5 million of cash outflows for dealer-generated customer accounts and bulk account purchases in 2025.

The authorized-dealer channel buys recurring relationships

ADT had approximately 140 authorized dealers at year-end 2025.

Dealers are generally required to offer qualified monitored accounts to ADT, although ADT is not required to accept them. When ADT buys a qualifying account, it pays the dealer for the acquired customer relationship.

Charge-backs shift some early cancellation risk back to the dealer

Dealer-generated contracts typically have an initial three-year term.

If a purchased account cancels during the charge-back period, generally thirteen months, the dealer must refund ADT's purchase price for that canceled account.

That mechanism is why gross cash payments and net customer-contract additions are related but not identical measures.

Bulk purchases are included in the same cash-flow line

ADT disclosed $115 million of cash paid at closing for multiple bulk customer-account purchases in 2025.

The broader $596.5 million cash-flow line therefore combines the ongoing dealer channel with bulk purchases from other security service providers.

Primary source: ADT 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the Security Monitoring Subscription Economics

Connects monitoring subscriber scale and retention with recurring revenue, subscriber-acquisition investment, company-owned system economics, and the deferred and contracted revenue created by long-duration monitoring relationships.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →

Where this concept fits

Subscriber acquisition and company-owned system investmentCurrent relationship
Dealer account purchases and contract additions acquire customer relationships, while subscriber system assets and deferred acquisition costs capitalize different parts of the investment required to create and support monitoring subscribers.
Customer Contract AdditionsDealer-Generated Account PurchasesCurrent conceptDeferred Acquisition Cost Amortization Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Costs Subscriber System Asset Depreciation Subscriber System Asset Expenditures Subscriber System Assets
Subscriber base, recurring revenue, retention, and payback
Subscriber count supplies the installed base, RMR and recognized recurring revenue describe monetization, attrition measures recurring revenue lost, and payback connects the upfront acquisition investment to the revenue stream that recovers it.
End-of-Period RMR Gross Customer Revenue Attrition Monitoring and Related Services Revenue Recurring Monthly Revenue Revenue Payback Period Monitoring Subscriber Count
Installation, deferred fees, and contracted future service revenue
Outright-sale installation revenue is recognized differently from company-owned upfront fees, while deferred subscriber acquisition revenue and remaining performance obligations show how existing customer contracts feed later revenue recognition.
Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Revenue Deferred Acquisition Revenue Amortization Installation Revenue Monitoring Remaining Performance Obligations

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

ADTOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Security Monitoring Subscription EconomicsSubscriber acquisition and company-owned system investment7 of 7 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Customer Contract Additions Deferred Acquisition Cost Amortization Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Costs Subscriber System Asset Depreciation Subscriber System Asset Expenditures Subscriber System Assets

Continue Research

Continue from the concept into the Grizzly Bulls research surface that best matches the next question. These links are research continuations, not recommendations or required steps.

Compare stocks

Compare dealer-channel acquisition spend

Compare cash invested in purchased monitoring accounts with charge-back protection, recurring revenue, and payback.

Continue research

Explore more topics in the Financial Research Encyclopedia.