LAD vs PAG vs AN Stock Comparison

Lithia Motors, Penske Automotive and Autonation Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LAD Lithia Motors Inc
$309.55 +0.6% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$6.72B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.21B
Div. yield
0.77%
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
AN Autonation, Inc.
$185.80 +14.4% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.15B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$27.42B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionLADPAGANLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.72B $14.01B $6.15B PAG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.6x 15.5x 8.6x LAD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.1x 17.1x 9.4x LAD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.6% +1.4% -1.8% LAD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.1% 2.8% 2.6% PAG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.3% 8.0% 14.3% AN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 3.5x 2.8x AN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.77% 2.64% 0.00% PAG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.4% +33.3% -7.0% PAG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.3%/yr +14.2%/yr +8.7%/yr PAG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.5% 27.5% 35.9% PAG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 37/100 50/100 AN

Percentile Scorecard

LADPAGAN

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

AxisLADPAGAN
Valuation 55 #48 of 105 47 #56 of 105 54 #49 of 105
Growth 30 #70 of 99 15 #84 of 99 24 #76 of 99
Profitability 37 #63 of 99 49 #51 of 99 55 #45 of 99
Financial Health 21 #90 of 113 25 #85 of 113 17 #94 of 113
Shareholder Returns 69 #23 of 73 47 #39 of 73 99 #2 of 73
Overall 42 37 50
  • LAD ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • PAG ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • AN ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLADPAGANSPY
1 month +0.6%+4.5%+14.4% -2.3%
3 months -18.1%-1.9%-13.8% -0.7%
6 months +9.8%+29.4%-8.3% +4.8%
Year to date -6.9%+34.8%-10.0% +10.3%
1 year -1.4%+33.3%-7.0% +10.3%
3 years +16.3%+36.7%+32.8% +73.0%
3 years, per year +5.2%+11.0%+9.9% +20.1%
5 years -6.5%+94.5%+51.8% +61.9%
5 years, per year -1.3%+14.2%+8.7% +10.1%
10 years +284.9%+387.0%+343.1% +258.6%
10 years, per year +14.4%+17.2%+16.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLADPAGANSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.5%27.5%35.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.2%22.4%39.0% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.480.550.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.031.21-0.20 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.1%-25.3%-33.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.6%-4.7%-19.2% -3.5%
52-week high $427.48$223.90$230.09 $779.14
52-week low $243.00$140.60$153.07 $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.

MultipleLADPAGAN
P/E now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 17.7x 15.5xmedian 17.7x 8.6xmedian 17.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.5x 0.2xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 9.0x 13.7xmedian 9.0x 6.9xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -15.7xmedian 15.9x 28.1xmedian 15.9x 268.6xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.7x 2.3xmedian 1.7x 2.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -5.73median 0.75 -2.12median 0.75 -1.77median 0.75

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 monthsLADPAGAN
Revenue $38.21B $32.56B $27.42B
Gross profit $5.79B $5.22B $4.86B
Operating income $1.55B $1.20B $1.26B
Net income $794.40M $904.00M $721.90M
Free cash flow -$426.70M $497.90M $22.90M
EPS (diluted) $35.84 $13.73 $21.36
Cash & equivalents $374.00M $68.30M $51.20M
Total debt $11.75B $4.97B $4.36B
Shares (diluted) 22.00M 65.70M 33.80M
Enterprise value $5.24B $13.74B $5.92B

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
MetricLADPAGAN
P/E 8.6x 15.5x 8.6x
P/FCF -15.7x 28.1x 268.6x
P/Operating cash flow -82.7x 17.5x 19.8x
P/S 0.2x 0.4x 0.2x
P/B 1.0x 2.3x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 3.0x 6.0x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 13.7x 6.9x
EV/EBIT 11.7x 15.7x 8.3x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.6x 0.4x
EV/FCF -42.4x 38.0x 456.7x
EV/Operating cash flow -222.8x 23.6x 33.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.73 -2.12 -1.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLADPAGAN
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.6% 1.4% -1.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 3.6% 0.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.9% -1.2% -2.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 2.0% -2.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.2% -13.5% -0.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.5% -5.4% -9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -11.9% -9.7% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -8.7% -8.1% -12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 0.9% -9.2% 22.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.5% -7.3% -4.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -127.5% -31.5% 179.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.0% -14.3% -32.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -906.4% -40.6% 112.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% -18.3% -66.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLADPAGAN
Gross margin 15.1% 16.0% 17.7%
EBITDA margin 5.0% 4.3% 5.6%
Operating margin 4.0% 3.7% 4.6%
Pretax margin 2.8% 3.8% 3.5%
Net margin 2.1% 2.8% 2.6%
FCF margin -1.1% 1.5% 0.1%
Operating cash flow margin -0.2% 2.5% 1.1%
Return on equity 12.2% 15.3% 31.9%
Return on assets 3.0% 4.9% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 6.3% 8.0% 14.3%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 10.1% 13.4%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.8x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.1x 0.9x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.1% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLADPAGAN
Debt / assets 43.8% 27.0% 27.9%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.8x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 3.5x 2.8x
Debt / FCF -27.5x 10.0x 190.4x
Liabilities / assets 75.3% 67.6% 85.5%
Equity / assets 24.7% 32.4% 14.5%
Interest coverage 7.2x – 12.0x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.16 3.12 2.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLADPAGAN
Dividend yield 0.8% 2.6% –
Net buyback yield 13.3% 0.5% 16.1%
Shareholder yield 14.1% 3.1% 16.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 41.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 74.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 11.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 28.3% –

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.

ConsensusLADPAGAN
Forward P/E 9.1xFY2026 17.1xFY2026 9.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $34.04FY2026 $12.45FY2026 $19.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 -6.6%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.7% +18.0% +15.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $37.52BFY2026 $34.43BFY2026 $28.30BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.3%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% -9.1% -6.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLADPAGAN
Held by institutions 100.0% 27.8% 72.2%
Institutions holding 445 395 511
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% +4.0% +0.5%
Institutions buying 223 210 222
Institutions selling 160 105 197
Buyers to sellers 1.39 2.00 1.13

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.

LADPAGAN
LAD 1.00 0.56 0.76
PAG 0.56 1.00 0.61
AN 0.76 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LAD, PAG and AN?

Penske Automotive (PAG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lithia Motors (LAD) $6.72B, Penske Automotive (PAG) $14.01B, Autonation (AN) $6.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, LAD, PAG and AN?

Lithia Motors (LAD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.6x, Penske Automotive (PAG) 15.5x, Autonation (AN) 8.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lithia Motors (LAD) is cheapest (Lithia Motors (LAD) 9.1x, Penske Automotive (PAG) 17.1x, Autonation (AN) 9.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lithia Motors (LAD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lithia Motors (LAD) +1.6%, Penske Automotive (PAG) +1.4%, Autonation (AN) -1.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Penske Automotive (PAG) has the highest net margin (Lithia Motors (LAD) 2.1%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 2.8%, Autonation (AN) 2.6%). On return on invested capital, Autonation (AN) leads (Lithia Motors (LAD) 6.3%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 8.0%, Autonation (AN) 14.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Penske Automotive (PAG) returned the most: Lithia Motors (LAD) -1.4%, Penske Automotive (PAG) +33.3%, Autonation (AN) -7.0%. Over five years, Penske Automotive (PAG) compounded fastest (Lithia Motors (LAD) -1.3%/yr, Penske Automotive (PAG) +14.2%/yr, Autonation (AN) +8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Penske Automotive (PAG) has the highest dividend yield: Lithia Motors (LAD) 0.77%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 2.64%, Autonation (AN) 0.00%. Autonation (AN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Penske Automotive (PAG) has been the steadiest (Lithia Motors (LAD) 41.5%, Penske Automotive (PAG) 27.5%, Autonation (AN) 35.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LAD, PAG and AN?

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 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.