KMX vs LAD vs HZO Stock Comparison

Carmax, Lithia Motors and Marinemax Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KMX Carmax Inc
$51.55 -10.3% 1M +19.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.44B
P/E
25.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.63B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
LAD Lithia Motors Inc
$295.57 -3.7% 1M -9.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.45B
P/E
9.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.94B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
6 wins
HZO Marinemax Inc
$52.56 +0.2% 1M +100.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.16B
P/E
290.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.20B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lithia Motors leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Lithia Motors 6, Carmax 3, Marinemax 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKMXLADHZOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.44B $6.45B $1.16B KMX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 9.0x 290.7x LAD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.8x 8.7x 69.2x LAD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +2.1% -5.4% KMX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 1.9% 0.2% LAD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.1% 6.5% 3.4% LAD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 5.9x 6.8x LAD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.6% -9.0% +100.5% HZO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -18.5%/yr -2.7%/yr +2.4%/yr HZO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.7% 41.3% 59.1% LAD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 42/100 43/100 KMX

Percentile Scorecard

KMXLADHZO

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

AxisKMXLADHZO
Valuation 69 #33 of 104 51 #52 of 104 70 #32 of 104
Growth 41 #59 of 99 30 #70 of 99 55 #45 of 99
Profitability 34 #66 of 99 35 #65 of 99 44 #56 of 99
Financial Health 21 #89 of 113 21 #90 of 113 35 #74 of 113
Shareholder Returns 78 #17 of 73 74 #20 of 73 13 #64 of 73
Overall 49 42 43
  • KMX ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • LAD ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • HZO ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKMXLADHZOSPY
1 month -10.3%-3.7%+0.2% -1.0%
3 months -11.6%-13.3%+44.6% +2.9%
6 months +34.7%+7.5%+76.9% +6.4%
Year to date +33.4%-11.1%+116.9% +11.4%
1 year +19.6%-9.0%+100.5% +13.1%
3 years -16.9%+18.5%+78.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -6.0%+5.8%+21.3% +21.5%
5 years -64.1%-12.6%+12.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year -18.5%-2.7%+2.4% +10.9%
10 years +3.0%+234.0%+152.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +0.3%+12.8%+9.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKMXLADHZOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.7%41.3%59.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.0%39.9%41.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.240.521.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.36-0.221.70 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.1%-47.1%-70.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.7%-30.9%0.0% -2.5%
52-week high $64.22$427.48$52.56 $779.14
52-week low $30.88$243.00$21.43 $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.

MultipleKMXLADHZO
P/E now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 16.7x 9.3xmedian 16.7x 291.0xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.2xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.0xmedian 9.1x 9.4xmedian 9.1x 16.6xmedian 9.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 16.6x -12.9xmedian 16.6x 6.5xmedian 16.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.7x 1.0xmedian 1.7x 1.2xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.42median 0.73 -1.26median 0.73 -4.20median 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 monthsKMXLADHZO
Revenue $27.63B $37.94B $2.20B
Gross profit $2.85B $5.76B $751.28M
Operating income $392.76M $1.55B $66.82M
Net income $292.45M $720.10M $4.76M
Free cash flow $1.15B -$504.30M $178.02M
EPS (diluted) $2.05 $31.75 $0.17
Cash & equivalents $170.53M $363.90M $174.78M
Total debt $15.71B $45.65B $971.02M
Shares (diluted) 142.45M 22.50M 23.16M
Enterprise value $6.81B $4.91B $459.84M

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
MetricKMXLADHZO
P/E 25.0x 9.3x 291.0x
P/FCF 6.4x -12.9x 6.5x
P/Operating cash flow 4.6x -43.7x 5.3x
P/S 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
P/B 1.2x 1.0x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 1.8x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 30.0x 9.4x 16.6x
EV/EBIT 58.2x 11.4x 29.3x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.5x 0.9x
EV/FCF 19.9x -35.0x 11.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x -118.6x 8.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.42 -1.26 -4.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMXLADHZO
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 2.1% -5.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.8% 9.0% -2.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.6% 1.0% -0.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 4.0% -3.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -23.0% -7.1% 42.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.1% -4.4% -32.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -43.9% -20.4% 118.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -13.5% -67.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -41.0% -7.1% 113.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.3% -7.4% -69.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.4% -124.3% 1,972%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 38.7% 42.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 67.3% -256.6% 432.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 53.9% 17.8% 37.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMXLADHZO
Gross margin 10.3% 15.2% 34.2%
EBITDA margin 2.8% 5.0% 5.4%
Operating margin 1.4% 4.1% 3.0%
Pretax margin 1.6% 2.5% 0.2%
Net margin 1.1% 1.9% 0.2%
FCF margin 4.1% -1.3% 8.1%
Operating cash flow margin 5.8% -0.4% 10.0%
Return on equity 4.7% 11.2% 0.5%
Return on assets 1.1% 2.8% 0.2%
Return on invested capital 1.1% 6.5% 3.4%
Return on capital employed 1.6% 8.7% 4.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.5x -0.2x 46.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.1% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMXLADHZO
Debt / assets 60.3% 43.9% 41.2%
Debt / equity 2.5x 1.8x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 5.9x 6.8x
Debt / FCF 13.7x -22.8x 5.5x
Liabilities / assets 75.8% 75.5% 59.1%
Equity / assets 24.2% 24.5% 40.9%
Interest coverage 3.3x 7.4x 1.1x
Current ratio 2.3x 1.0x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.70 2.18 2.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMXLADHZO
Dividend yield – 0.8% –
Net buyback yield 3.6% 18.5% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 3.6% 19.3% -0.2%
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.

ConsensusKMXLADHZO
Forward P/E 16.8xFY2026 8.7xFY2026 69.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.06FY2026 $33.93FY2026 $0.76FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +1.4%FY2026 +24.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +19.7% +111.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $29.97BFY2026 $37.41BFY2026 $2.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.8%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 -2.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +8.4% -3.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMXLADHZO
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 87.6%
Institutions holding 557 445 182
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.9% +0.2% -0.6%
Institutions buying 232 223 97
Institutions selling 251 160 53
Buyers to sellers 0.92 1.39 1.83

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.

KMXLADHZO
KMX 1.00 0.42 0.22
LAD 0.42 1.00 0.18
HZO 0.22 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMX, LAD and HZO?

Carmax (KMX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Carmax (KMX) $7.44B, Lithia Motors (LAD) $6.45B, Marinemax (HZO) $1.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMX, LAD and HZO?

Lithia Motors (LAD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Carmax (KMX) 25.5x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 9.0x, Marinemax (HZO) 290.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lithia Motors (LAD) is cheapest (Carmax (KMX) 16.8x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.7x, Marinemax (HZO) 69.2x). 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) +2.1%, Marinemax (HZO) -5.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lithia Motors (LAD) has the highest net margin (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 1.9%, Marinemax (HZO) 0.2%). On return on invested capital, Lithia Motors (LAD) leads (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 6.5%, Marinemax (HZO) 3.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Marinemax (HZO) returned the most: Carmax (KMX) +19.6%, Lithia Motors (LAD) -9.0%, Marinemax (HZO) +100.5%. Over five years, Marinemax (HZO) compounded fastest (Carmax (KMX) -18.5%/yr, Lithia Motors (LAD) -2.7%/yr, Marinemax (HZO) +2.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lithia Motors (LAD) has been the steadiest (Carmax (KMX) 54.7%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 41.3%, Marinemax (HZO) 59.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lithia Motors (LAD) leads on 6. 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.