LAD vs KMX vs ABG Stock Comparison

Lithia Motors, Carmax and Asbury Automotive Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LAD Lithia Motors Inc
$288.81 -4.6% 1M -9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.27B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.21B
Div. yield
0.82%
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
KMX Carmax Inc
$53.99 -4.4% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.66B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.63B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
ABG Asbury Automotive Group Inc
$193.48 +7.5% 1M -18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.47B
P/E
7.6x
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.

QuestionLADKMXABGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.27B $7.66B $3.47B KMX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.0x 26.2x 7.6x ABG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 17.6x 7.2x ABG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.6% +4.8% -1.3% KMX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.1% 1.1% — LAD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.3% 1.1% — LAD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 20.4x — LAD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.82% — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.3% +21.5% -18.0% KMX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.0%/yr -17.0%/yr -0.2%/yr ABG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.3% 54.7% 36.9% ABG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 48/100 — KMX

Percentile Scorecard

LADKMXABG

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureLADKMXABGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.3%54.7%36.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%65.2%37.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.531.240.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.220.39-0.49 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.1%-80.1%-47.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.4%-15.9%-24.4% -0.9%
52-week high $427.48$64.22$256.03 $779.14
52-week low $243.00$30.88$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.

MultipleLADKMXABG
P/E now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 16.7x 26.2xmedian 16.7x 7.6xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.4x 0.3xmedian 0.4x 0.2xmedian 0.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 9.2x 30.4xmedian 9.2x —median 9.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -14.7xmedian 16.0x 6.7xmedian 16.0x 6.3xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -5.34median 0.73 -2.53median 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 monthsLADKMXABG
Revenue $38.21B $27.63B $17.59B
Gross profit $5.79B $2.85B $3.00B
Operating income $1.55B $392.76M $746.30M
Net income $794.40M $292.45M –
Free cash flow -$426.70M $1.15B –
EPS (diluted) $35.84 $2.05 $25.55
Cash & equivalents $374.00M $170.53M $84.50M
Total debt $11.75B $15.71B –
Shares (diluted) 22.00M 142.45M 18.30M
Enterprise value $4.79B $7.03B $3.47B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLADKMXABG
Dividend yield 0.8% – –
Net buyback yield 14.3% 3.4% –
Shareholder yield 15.1% 3.4% 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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

LADKMXABG
LAD 1.00 0.42 0.70
KMX 0.42 1.00 0.42
ABG 0.70 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LAD, KMX and ABG?

Carmax (KMX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lithia Motors (LAD) $6.27B, Carmax (KMX) $7.66B, Asbury Automotive (ABG) $3.47B.

Which stock is cheaper, LAD, KMX and ABG?

Asbury Automotive (ABG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.0x, Carmax (KMX) 26.2x, Asbury Automotive (ABG) 7.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Asbury Automotive (ABG) is cheapest (Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.5x, Carmax (KMX) 17.6x, 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: Lithia Motors (LAD) +1.6%, Carmax (KMX) +4.8%, Asbury Automotive (ABG) -1.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Lithia Motors (LAD) 0.82%, Asbury Automotive (ABG) 0.00%. Carmax (KMX) and Asbury Automotive (ABG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

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

Which is the better stock, LAD, KMX 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.