KMX vs LAD vs ABG Stock Comparison

Carmax, Lithia Motors and Asbury Automotive Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KMX Carmax Inc
$53.99 -4.4% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.86B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.63B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
LAD Lithia Motors Inc
$288.81 -4.6% 1M -9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.46B
P/E
8.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.21B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
ABG Asbury Automotive Group Inc
$193.48 +7.5% 1M -18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.63B
P/E
7.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.59B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Carmax leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Carmax 4, Asbury Automotive 4, Lithia Motors 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKMXLADABGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.86B $6.46B $3.63B KMX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.9x 8.2x 7.8x ABG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.6x 8.5x 7.2x ABG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +1.6% -1.3% KMX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 2.1% — LAD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.1% 6.3% — LAD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 6.0x — LAD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.5% -9.3% -18.0% KMX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.0%/yr -2.0%/yr -0.2%/yr ABG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.7% 41.3% 36.9% ABG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 43/100 — KMX

Percentile Scorecard

KMXLADABG

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

AxisKMXLADABG
Valuation 67 #35 of 104 54 #48 of 104 92 #9 of 104
Growth 40 #59 of 98 29 #70 of 98 17 #82 of 98
Profitability 35 #63 of 96 38 #60 of 96 –
Financial Health 21 #87 of 110 23 #85 of 110 –
Shareholder Returns 77 #17 of 71 70 #22 of 71 –
Overall 48 43 –
  • KMX ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • LAD ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • ABG ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKMXLADABGSPY
1 month -4.4%-4.6%+7.5% +0.9%
3 months -8.7%-32.4%-22.0% +5.9%
6 months +40.8%-0.8%-3.9% +8.5%
Year to date +39.7%-13.1%-16.8% +13.3%
1 year +21.5%-9.3%-18.0% +12.4%
3 years -10.8%+21.9%+3.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year -3.7%+6.8%+1.2% +23.5%
5 years -60.6%-9.5%-1.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year -17.0%-2.0%-0.2% +11.0%
10 years +8.5%+238.4%+279.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +0.8%+13.0%+14.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKMXLADABGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.7%41.3%36.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.2%39.9%37.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.240.530.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.39-0.22-0.49 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.1%-47.1%-47.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-32.4%-24.4% -0.9%
52-week high $64.22$427.48$256.03 $779.14
52-week low $30.88$243.00$161.79 $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.

MultipleKMXLADABG
P/E now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 16.7x 8.0xmedian 16.7x 7.6xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.4x 0.2xmedian 0.4x 0.2xmedian 0.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 9.2x 9.3xmedian 9.2x —median 9.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 16.0x -14.7xmedian 16.0x 6.3xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -2.53median 0.73 -5.34median 0.73 -0.47median 0.73

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 monthsKMXLADABG
Revenue $27.63B $38.21B $17.59B
Gross profit $2.85B $5.79B $3.00B
Operating income $392.76M $1.55B $746.30M
Net income $292.45M $794.40M –
Free cash flow $1.15B -$426.70M –
EPS (diluted) $2.05 $35.84 $25.55
Cash & equivalents $170.53M $374.00M $84.50M
Total debt $15.71B $11.75B –
Shares (diluted) 142.45M 22.00M 18.30M
Enterprise value $7.23B $4.95B $3.63B

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
MetricKMXLADABG
P/E 26.2x 8.0x 7.6x
P/FCF 6.7x -14.7x 6.3x
P/Operating cash flow 4.8x -77.2x –
P/S 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
P/B 1.2x 0.9x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 1.7x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA 30.4x 9.3x –
EV/EBIT 59.1x 11.4x –
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.5x 0.2x
EV/FCF 20.2x -41.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow 14.5x -217.3x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.53 -5.34 -0.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMXLADABG
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 1.6% -1.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.8% 8.0% 6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.6% 0.9% -0.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 3.8% 2.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -23.0% -7.2% -23.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.1% -3.5% -13.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -43.9% -11.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -8.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) -41.0% 0.9% -10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.3% -1.5% -16.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.4% -127.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 33.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 67.3% -906.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 53.9% 6.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMXLADABG
Gross margin 10.3% 15.1% –
EBITDA margin 2.8% 5.0% –
Operating margin 1.4% 4.0% –
Pretax margin 1.6% 2.8% –
Net margin 1.1% 2.1% –
FCF margin 4.1% -1.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 5.8% -0.2% –
Return on equity 4.7% 12.2% –
Return on assets 1.1% 3.0% –
Return on invested capital 1.1% 6.3% –
Return on capital employed 1.6% 8.5% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.4x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.5x -0.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMXLADABG
Debt / assets 60.3% 43.8% –
Debt / equity 2.5x 1.8x –
Net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 6.0x –
Debt / FCF 13.7x -27.5x –
Liabilities / assets 75.8% 75.3% –
Equity / assets 24.2% 24.7% –
Interest coverage 3.3x 7.2x –
Current ratio 2.3x 1.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.2x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x –
Altman Z-score 1.71 2.14 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMXLADABG
Dividend yield – 0.8% –
Net buyback yield 3.4% 14.3% –
Shareholder yield 3.4% 15.1% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusKMXLADABG
Forward P/E 17.6xFY2026 8.5xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.06FY2026 $34.04FY2026 $26.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 -4.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +15.7% +12.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $29.97BFY2026 $37.52BFY2026 $16.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.8%FY2026 -0.3%FY2026 -8.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +8.1% +6.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMXLADABG
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 557 445 315
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.9% +0.2% -2.4%
Institutions buying 232 223 173
Institutions selling 251 160 106
Buyers to sellers 0.92 1.39 1.63

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.

KMXLADABG
KMX 1.00 0.42 0.42
LAD 0.42 1.00 0.70
ABG 0.42 0.70 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMX, LAD and ABG?

Carmax (KMX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Carmax (KMX) $7.86B, Lithia Motors (LAD) $6.46B, Asbury Automotive (ABG) $3.63B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMX, LAD and ABG?

Asbury Automotive (ABG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Carmax (KMX) 26.9x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.2x, Asbury Automotive (ABG) 7.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Asbury Automotive (ABG) is cheapest (Carmax (KMX) 17.6x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.5x, Asbury Automotive (ABG) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Carmax (KMX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Carmax (KMX) +4.8%, Lithia Motors (LAD) +1.6%, Asbury Automotive (ABG) -1.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lithia Motors (LAD) has the highest net margin (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 2.1%). On return on invested capital, Lithia Motors (LAD) leads (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 6.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Carmax (KMX) returned the most: Carmax (KMX) +21.5%, Lithia Motors (LAD) -9.3%, Asbury Automotive (ABG) -18.0%. Over five years, Asbury Automotive (ABG) compounded fastest (Carmax (KMX) -17.0%/yr, Lithia Motors (LAD) -2.0%/yr, Asbury Automotive (ABG) -0.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Asbury Automotive (ABG) has been the steadiest (Carmax (KMX) 54.7%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 41.3%, Asbury Automotive (ABG) 36.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KMX, LAD and ABG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Carmax (KMX) leads on 4. 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.