KMX vs PAG vs SAH Stock Comparison

Carmax, Penske Automotive and Sonic Automotive Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KMX Carmax Inc
$56.15 -5.2% 1M +32.2% 1Y
Market cap
$7.97B
P/E
27.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.63B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
SAH Sonic Automotive Inc
$63.81 +6.9% 1M +1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.26B
P/E
9.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.48B
Div. yield
2.48%
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Penske Automotive leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Penske Automotive 5, Sonic Automotive 4, Carmax 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKMXPAGSAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.97B $13.94B $5.26B PAG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.3x 15.5x 9.8x SAH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.3x 17.1x 9.2x SAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +1.4% +2.0% KMX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 2.8% 1.3% PAG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.1% 8.0% 17.9% SAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 3.5x 2.6x SAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.66% 2.48% PAG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.2% +32.1% +1.3% KMX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.3%/yr +14.9%/yr +5.2%/yr PAG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.7% 27.5% 44.7% PAG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 37/100 41/100 KMX

Percentile Scorecard

KMXPAGSAH

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

AxisKMXPAGSAH
Valuation 68 #34 of 104 46 #57 of 104 44 #59 of 104
Growth 40 #59 of 98 14 #84 of 98 65 #35 of 98
Profitability 33 #65 of 97 49 #50 of 97 52 #47 of 97
Financial Health 22 #86 of 110 25 #83 of 110 17 #91 of 110
Shareholder Returns 77 #17 of 70 51 #35 of 70 29 #50 of 70
Overall 48 37 41
  • KMX ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • PAG 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

PeriodKMXPAGSAHSPY
1 month -5.2%+5.3%+6.9% +0.7%
3 months -4.3%-3.8%-36.4% +3.7%
6 months +42.8%+23.8%-19.0% +7.1%
Year to date +45.3%+34.1%+3.2% +12.8%
1 year +32.2%+32.1%+1.3% +11.9%
3 years -7.5%+48.6%+34.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year -2.5%+14.1%+10.3% +22.8%
5 years -59.0%+100.2%+29.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -16.3%+14.9%+5.2% +10.9%
10 years +12.8%+381.1%+256.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.2%+17.0%+13.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKMXPAGSAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.7%27.5%44.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.2%22.4%49.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.230.560.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.591.170.03 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.1%-25.3%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.6%-5.2%-43.6% -1.2%
52-week high $64.22$223.90$113.07 $779.14
52-week low $30.88$140.60$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.

MultipleKMXPAGSAH
P/E now vs peer median 27.3xmedian 17.0x 15.5xmedian 17.0x 9.8xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 9.2x 13.6xmedian 9.2x 10.5xmedian 9.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 15.6x 28.0xmedian 15.6x 57.7xmedian 15.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.7x 2.3xmedian 1.7x 5.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.64median 0.77 -2.11median 0.77 0.11median 0.77

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 monthsKMXPAGSAH
Revenue $27.63B $32.56B $15.48B
Gross profit $2.85B $5.22B $2.43B
Operating income $392.76M $1.20B $499.90M
Net income $292.45M $904.00M $206.20M
Free cash flow $1.15B $497.90M $91.10M
EPS (diluted) $2.05 $13.73 $6.40
Cash & equivalents $170.53M $68.30M $10.70M
Total debt $15.71B $4.97B $1.75B
Shares (diluted) 142.45M 65.70M 32.20M
Enterprise value $7.34B $13.67B $5.22B

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
MetricKMXPAGSAH
P/E 27.3x 15.5x 9.8x
P/FCF 7.0x 28.0x 57.7x
P/Operating cash flow 5.0x 17.4x 100.3x
P/S 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
P/B 1.3x 2.3x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 3.0x 9.5x
EV/EBITDA 30.8x 13.6x 10.5x
EV/EBIT 59.9x 15.6x 14.0x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 0.6x 0.5x
EV/FCF 20.5x 37.8x 76.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.7x 23.5x 133.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.64 -2.11 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMXPAGSAH
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 1.4% 2.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.8% 3.6% 2.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.6% -1.2% 3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 2.0% 2.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -23.0% -13.5% 32.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.1% -5.4% 41.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -43.9% -9.7% 58.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -13.6% -8.1% 81.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -41.0% -9.2% 72.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.3% -7.3% 86.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.4% -31.5% -91.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -14.3% 33.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 67.3% -40.6% -88.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 53.9% -18.3% -12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMXPAGSAH
Gross margin 10.3% 16.0% 15.7%
EBITDA margin 2.8% 4.3% 4.3%
Operating margin 1.4% 3.7% 3.2%
Pretax margin 1.6% 3.8% 1.9%
Net margin 1.1% 2.8% 1.3%
FCF margin 4.1% 1.5% 0.6%
Operating cash flow margin 5.8% 2.5% 0.3%
Return on equity 4.7% 15.3% 30.1%
Return on assets 1.1% 4.9% 4.9%
Return on invested capital 1.1% 8.0% 17.9%
Return on capital employed 1.6% 10.1% 15.6%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.8x 2.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.5x 0.9x 0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.1% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMXPAGSAH
Debt / assets 60.3% 27.0% 26.9%
Debt / equity 2.5x 0.8x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 20.4x 3.5x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 13.7x 10.0x 19.2x
Liabilities / assets 75.8% 67.6% 83.7%
Equity / assets 24.2% 32.4% 16.3%
Interest coverage 3.3x – –
Current ratio 2.3x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 1.72 3.11 3.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMXPAGSAH
Dividend yield – 2.7% 2.5%
Net buyback yield 3.3% 0.5% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 3.1% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 41.2% 22.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 74.7% 50.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 11.9% -30.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 28.3% -16.3%

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.

ConsensusKMXPAGSAH
Forward P/E 18.3xFY2026 17.1xFY2026 9.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.06FY2026 $12.45FY2026 $6.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 -6.6%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +18.0% +1.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $29.97BFY2026 $34.43BFY2026 $14.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.8%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% -9.1% +5.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMXPAGSAH
Held by institutions 100.0% 27.8% 20.6%
Institutions holding 558 394 235
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.9% +4.0% +1.7%
Institutions buying 233 210 122
Institutions selling 251 105 80
Buyers to sellers 0.93 2.00 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.

KMXPAGSAH
KMX 1.00 0.37 0.40
PAG 0.37 1.00 0.61
SAH 0.40 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMX, PAG and SAH?

Penske Automotive (PAG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Carmax (KMX) $7.97B, Penske Automotive (PAG) $13.94B, Sonic Automotive (SAH) $5.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMX, PAG and SAH?

Sonic Automotive (SAH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Carmax (KMX) 27.3x, Penske Automotive (PAG) 15.5x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 9.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sonic Automotive (SAH) is cheapest (Carmax (KMX) 18.3x, Penske Automotive (PAG) 17.1x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 9.2x). 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%, Penske Automotive (PAG) +1.4%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +2.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Penske Automotive (PAG) has the highest net margin (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 2.8%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 1.3%). On return on invested capital, Sonic Automotive (SAH) leads (Carmax (KMX) 1.1%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 8.0%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 17.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Carmax (KMX) returned the most: Carmax (KMX) +32.2%, Penske Automotive (PAG) +32.1%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +1.3%. Over five years, Penske Automotive (PAG) compounded fastest (Carmax (KMX) -16.3%/yr, Penske Automotive (PAG) +14.9%/yr, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +5.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Penske Automotive (PAG) has the highest dividend yield: Penske Automotive (PAG) 2.66%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 2.48%. Carmax (KMX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Penske Automotive (PAG) has been the steadiest (Carmax (KMX) 54.7%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 27.5%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 44.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KMX, PAG 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, Penske Automotive (PAG) leads on 5. 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.