PAG vs SAH vs LAD Stock Comparison

Penske Automotive, Sonic Automotive and Lithia Motors Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SAH Sonic Automotive Inc
$63.14 +1.2% 1M -1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.01B
P/E
9.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.47B
Div. yield
-0.02%
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
LAD Lithia Motors Inc
$288.81 -4.6% 1M -9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.49B
P/E
8.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.21B
Div. yield
–
Auto Dealerships Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionPAGSAHLADLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.96B $2.01B $6.49B PAG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.6x 9.5x 8.2x LAD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.0x 9.1x 8.5x LAD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +5.3% +1.6% SAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 1.4% 2.1% LAD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 18.6% 6.3% SAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.6x 6.0x SAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% -0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.0% -1.8% -9.3% PAG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.9%/yr +5.0%/yr -2.0%/yr PAG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.5% 44.7% 41.3% PAG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 48/100 43/100 SAH

Percentile Scorecard

PAGSAHLAD

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

AxisPAGSAHLAD
Valuation 59 #43 of 104 52 #50 of 104 54 #48 of 104
Growth – 68 #32 of 98 29 #70 of 98
Profitability – 57 #42 of 96 38 #60 of 96
Financial Health 37 #70 of 110 19 #89 of 110 23 #85 of 110
Shareholder Returns 46 #39 of 71 41 #42 of 71 70 #22 of 71
Overall 47 48 43
  • PAG ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • SAH ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • LAD ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPAGSAHLADSPY
1 month +2.2%+1.2%-4.6% +0.9%
3 months -5.3%-44.2%-32.4% +5.9%
6 months +23.5%-13.9%-0.8% +8.5%
Year to date +33.9%+2.1%-13.1% +13.3%
1 year +30.0%-1.8%-9.3% +12.4%
3 years +46.4%+28.5%+21.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +13.6%+8.7%+6.8% +23.5%
5 years +99.8%+27.7%-9.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +14.9%+5.0%-2.0% +11.0%
10 years +380.1%+252.7%+238.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +17.0%+13.4%+13.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePAGSAHLADSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.5%44.7%41.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.4%49.0%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.560.760.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.09-0.04-0.22 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.3%-47.2%-47.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-44.2%-32.4% -0.9%
52-week high $223.90$113.07$427.48 $779.14
52-week low $140.60$58.28$243.00 $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.

MultiplePAGSAHLAD
P/E now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 16.7x 9.4xmedian 16.7x 8.0xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.4x 0.3xmedian 0.4x 0.2xmedian 0.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.2x 10.2xmedian 9.2x 9.3xmedian 9.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.8xmedian 16.0x 21.3xmedian 16.0x -14.7xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.6x 5.1xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.73 0.09median 0.73 -5.34median 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 monthsPAGSAHLAD
Revenue – $15.47B $38.21B
Gross profit – $2.43B $5.79B
Operating income – $510.20M $1.55B
Net income – $211.90M $794.40M
Free cash flow – $244.50M -$426.70M
EPS (diluted) – $6.60 $35.84
Cash & equivalents $68.30M $19.20M $374.00M
Total debt – $1.76B $11.75B
Shares (diluted) 65.73M 32.10M 22.00M
Enterprise value $13.96B $1.89B $4.99B

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
MetricPAGSAHLAD
P/E 14.6x 9.4x 8.0x
P/FCF 22.8x 21.3x -14.7x
P/Operating cash flow – 30.6x -77.2x
P/S 0.4x 0.3x 0.2x
P/B 2.3x 5.1x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 8.8x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA – 10.2x 9.3x
EV/EBIT – 13.6x 11.4x
EV/Revenue – 0.4x 0.5x
EV/FCF – 28.4x -41.4x
EV/Operating cash flow – 40.8x -217.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.09 -5.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAGSAHLAD
Revenue growth (1Y) – 5.3% 1.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 2.9% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 6.3% 0.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 2.1% 3.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 38.3% -7.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 39.1% -3.5%
Net income growth (1Y) – 34.3% -11.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 104.2% -8.7%
EPS growth (1Y) – 42.7% 0.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 110.4% -1.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -66.5% -127.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.1% 33.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -65.5% -906.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -9.8% 6.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAGSAHLAD
Gross margin – 15.7% 15.1%
EBITDA margin – 4.4% 5.0%
Operating margin – 3.3% 4.0%
Pretax margin – 2.0% 2.8%
Net margin – 1.4% 2.1%
FCF margin – 1.6% -1.1%
Operating cash flow margin – 1.1% -0.2%
Return on equity – 31.9% 12.2%
Return on assets – 5.1% 3.0%
Return on invested capital – 18.6% 6.3%
Return on capital employed – 16.0% 8.5%
Asset turnover – 2.5x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.8x -0.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAGSAHLAD
Debt / assets – 27.6% 43.8%
Debt / equity – 1.7x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.6x 6.0x
Debt / FCF – 7.2x -27.5x
Liabilities / assets 67.6% 83.9% 75.3%
Equity / assets 32.4% 16.1% 24.7%
Interest coverage – – 7.2x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.1x 0.2x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.62 2.14

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAGSAHLAD
Dividend yield 2.7% 2.5% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% 14.3%
Shareholder yield 2.7% 2.8% 15.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 22.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 19.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -26.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -17.3% –

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.

ConsensusPAGSAHLAD
Forward P/E 17.0xFY2026 9.1xFY2026 8.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.45FY2026 $6.92FY2026 $34.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -6.6%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.0% +1.0% +15.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $34.43BFY2026 $14.64BFY2026 $37.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026 -0.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -9.1% +5.2% +8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAGSAHLAD
Held by institutions 27.8% 20.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 393 235 445
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.0% +1.7% +0.2%
Institutions buying 209 122 223
Institutions selling 105 80 160
Buyers to sellers 1.99 1.53 1.39

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.

PAGSAHLAD
PAG 1.00 0.61 0.56
SAH 0.61 1.00 0.69
LAD 0.56 0.69 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAG, SAH and LAD?

Penske Automotive (PAG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Penske Automotive (PAG) $13.96B, Sonic Automotive (SAH) $2.01B, Lithia Motors (LAD) $6.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAG, SAH and LAD?

Lithia Motors (LAD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Penske Automotive (PAG) 14.6x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 9.5x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lithia Motors (LAD) is cheapest (Penske Automotive (PAG) 17.0x, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 9.1x, Lithia Motors (LAD) 8.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sonic Automotive (SAH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sonic Automotive (SAH) +5.3%, Lithia Motors (LAD) +1.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lithia Motors (LAD) has the highest net margin (Sonic Automotive (SAH) 1.4%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 2.1%). On return on invested capital, Sonic Automotive (SAH) leads (Sonic Automotive (SAH) 18.6%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 6.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Penske Automotive (PAG) returned the most: Penske Automotive (PAG) +30.0%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) -1.8%, Lithia Motors (LAD) -9.3%. Over five years, Penske Automotive (PAG) compounded fastest (Penske Automotive (PAG) +14.9%/yr, Sonic Automotive (SAH) +5.0%/yr, Lithia Motors (LAD) -2.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Penske Automotive (PAG) has been the steadiest (Penske Automotive (PAG) 27.5%, Sonic Automotive (SAH) 44.7%, Lithia Motors (LAD) 41.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.