Group 1 Automotive vs Lithia Motors
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Group 1 Automotive and Lithia Motors side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Lithia Motors is the larger business, with $37.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $22.6B for Group 1 Automotive, about 1.7 times as much.
- Group 1 Automotive grew revenue faster (13.2%, against 4.0%).
- Lithia Motors kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (4.2% operating margin, against 3.3%).
- Group 1 Automotive turned more of its sales into free cash flow (1.9% FCF margin, against 0.0%).
- Group 1 Automotive earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (8.6%, against 7.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Group 1 Automotive’s earnings: a P/E of 10.1x against 9.5x for Lithia Motors.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Group 1 Automotive
GPI
5/10
Revenue growthGross marginFCF marginReturn on capitalPiotroski F-score
Lithia Motors
LAD
5/10
5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on equityShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | GPI FY25 | LAD FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.9B | $6.5B |
| Revenue | $22.6B | $37.6B |
| Free cash flow | $425M | $5.8M |
| Net income | $325M | $820M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 13.2% | 4.0% |
| 5-year growth | 16.3% | 23.5% |
| Share count change | −3.9% | −6.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 16.1% | 15.2% |
| Operating margin | 3.3% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 1.4% | 2.2% |
| FCF margin | 1.9% | 0.0% |
| Return on capital | 8.6% | 7.8% |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | 12.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.7B | $9.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 4.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $580M | $1.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 10.1x | 9.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 3 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.