AN vs SAH Stock Comparison

Autonation and Sonic Automotive Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AN Autonation, Inc.
$160.14 -4.0% 1M -20.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.46B
P/E
7.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.45B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
SAH Sonic Automotive Inc
$61.18 -5.9% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.01B
P/E
9.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.47B
Div. yield
-0.02%
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Autonation leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Autonation 7, Sonic Automotive 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionANSAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.46B $2.01B AN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.0x 9.5x AN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.1x 8.8x AN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.1% +5.3% SAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% 1.4% AN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.6% 18.6% SAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 2.6x SAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% -0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.0% -4.9% SAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.9%/yr +4.3%/yr AN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.0% 44.6% AN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 48/100 AN

Percentile Scorecard

ANSAH

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisANSAH
Valuation 58 #44 of 104 55 #47 of 104
Growth 27 #73 of 99 68 #32 of 99
Profitability 55 #45 of 99 56 #44 of 99
Financial Health 17 #94 of 113 19 #92 of 113
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 73 40 #44 of 73
Overall 51 48
  • AN ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • SAH ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodANSAHSPY
1 month -4.0%-5.9% -0.8%
3 months -24.6%-40.6% +3.5%
6 months -21.5%-14.5% +7.0%
Year to date -22.4%-1.1% +12.2%
1 year -20.0%-4.9% +13.0%
3 years +22.7%+24.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +7.1%+7.6% +23.1%
5 years +33.0%+23.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.9%+4.3% +11.0%
10 years +242.9%+237.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.1%+12.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureANSAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.0%44.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.7%49.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.520.75 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.57-0.11 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.5%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.4%-45.9% -1.8%
52-week high $230.09$113.07 $779.14
52-week low $153.07$58.28 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleANSAH
P/E now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 16.7x 9.1xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 9.0x 10.0xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 438.1xmedian 16.5x 20.6xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.7x 4.9xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -1.47median 0.72 0.08median 0.72

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsANSAH
Revenue $27.45B $15.47B
Gross profit $4.90B $2.43B
Operating income $1.32B $510.20M
Net income $774.70M $211.90M
Free cash flow $12.10M $244.50M
EPS (diluted) $22.92 $6.60
Cash & equivalents $53.30M $19.20M
Total debt $4.44B $1.76B
Shares (diluted) 33.80M 32.10M
Enterprise value $5.18B $1.89B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricANSAH
P/E 6.9x 9.1x
P/FCF 438.1x 20.6x
P/Operating cash flow 18.1x 29.6x
P/S 0.2x 0.3x
P/B 2.3x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 5.2x 8.6x
EV/EBITDA 6.1x 10.0x
EV/EBIT 7.3x 13.3x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.4x
EV/FCF 800.3x 27.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 33.0x 39.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.47 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricANSAH
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.1% 5.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.5% 6.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.1% 2.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.1% 38.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -10.3% 39.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 22.2% 34.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -13.6% 104.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 38.5% 42.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -4.7% 110.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 294.9% -66.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -38.8% 28.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 102.7% -65.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -76.3% -9.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricANSAH
Gross margin 17.8% 15.7%
EBITDA margin 5.8% 4.4%
Operating margin 4.8% 3.3%
Pretax margin 3.8% 2.0%
Net margin 2.8% 1.4%
FCF margin 0.0% 1.6%
Operating cash flow margin 1.1% 1.1%
Return on equity 34.5% 31.9%
Return on assets 5.1% 5.1%
Return on invested capital 14.6% 18.6%
Return on capital employed 14.9% 16.0%
Asset turnover 1.8x 2.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.4x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricANSAH
Debt / assets 28.6% 27.6%
Debt / equity 2.0x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 366.6x 7.2x
Liabilities / assets 85.4% 83.9%
Equity / assets 14.6% 16.1%
Interest coverage 13.7x –
Current ratio 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.76 3.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricANSAH
Dividend yield – 2.6%
Net buyback yield 19.0% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 19.0% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 22.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 19.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -26.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -17.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusANSAH
Forward P/E 8.1xFY2026 8.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $19.82FY2026 $6.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.0%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.6% +1.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $28.30BFY2026 $14.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.5% +5.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersANSAH
Held by institutions 72.2% 17.6%
Institutions holding 509 235
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +1.7%
Institutions buying 222 122
Institutions selling 196 80
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.53

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ANSAH
AN 1.00 0.77
SAH 0.77 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AN and SAH?

Autonation (AN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Autonation (AN) $5.46B, Sonic Automotive (SAH) $2.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, AN and SAH?

Autonation (AN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Autonation (AN) 7.0x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 9.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Autonation (AN) is cheapest (Autonation (AN) 8.1x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 8.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sonic Automotive (SAH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Autonation (AN) -0.1%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +5.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Autonation (AN) has the highest net margin (Autonation (AN) 2.8%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 1.4%). On return on invested capital, Sonic Automotive (SAH) leads (Autonation (AN) 14.6%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 18.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sonic Automotive (SAH) returned the most: Autonation (AN) -20.0%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) -4.9%. Over five years, Autonation (AN) compounded fastest (Autonation (AN) +5.9%/yr, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Autonation (AN) has been the steadiest (Autonation (AN) 35.0%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 44.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do AN and SAH move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.77, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, AN and SAH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Autonation (AN) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.