AutoNation vs Group 1 Automotive
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The short version
- AutoNation is the larger business, with $27.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $22.6B for Group 1 Automotive.
- Group 1 Automotive grew revenue faster (13.2%, against 3.2%).
- AutoNation kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (4.5% operating margin, against 3.3%).
- Group 1 Automotive turned more of its sales into free cash flow (1.9% FCF margin, against −0.7%).
- AutoNation earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (14.7%, against 8.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Group 1 Automotive’s earnings: a P/E of 10.1x against 7.5x for AutoNation.
| Latest fiscal year | AN · FY25 | GPI · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.4B | $2.9B |
| Revenue | $27.6B | $22.6B |
| Free cash flow | −$198M | $425M |
| Net income | $649M | $325M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 3.2% | 13.2% |
| 5-year growth | 6.3% | 16.3% |
| Share count change | −6.9% | −3.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 17.9% | 16.1% |
| Operating margin | 4.5% | 3.3% |
| Net margin | 2.4% | 1.4% |
| FCF margin | −0.7% | 1.9% |
| Return on capital | 14.7% | 8.6% |
| Return on equity | 27.1% | 11.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.9B | $3.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $792M | $580M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 7.5x | 10.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
AN $21.6B
GPI $10.9B
FY17
AN $21.5B
GPI $11.1B
FY18
AN $21.4B
GPI $11.6B
FY19
AN $21.3B
GPI $11.6B
FY20
AN $20.4B
GPI $10.6B
FY21
AN $25.8B
GPI $13.5B
FY22
AN $27.0B
GPI $16.2B
FY23
AN $26.9B
GPI $17.9B
FY24
AN $26.8B
GPI $19.9B
FY25
AN $27.6B
GPI $22.6B
AN
GPI
Operating margin
FY16
AN 4.1%
GPI 3.1%
FY17
AN 3.9%
GPI 3.1%
FY18
AN 3.6%
GPI 2.9%
FY19
AN 3.9%
GPI 3.1%
FY20
AN 2.8%
GPI 4.7%
FY21
AN 7.4%
GPI 6.6%
FY22
AN 7.5%
GPI 6.7%
FY23
AN 6.1%
GPI 5.4%
FY24
AN 4.9%
GPI 4.6%
FY25
AN 4.5%
GPI 3.3%
AN
GPI
Free cash flow
FY16
AN $272M
GPI $228M
FY17
AN $227M
GPI −$19.3M
FY18
AN $110M
GPI $129M
FY19
AN $500M
GPI $179M
FY20
AN $1.1B
GPI $702M
FY21
AN $1.4B
GPI $1.1B
FY22
AN $1.3B
GPI $430M
FY23
AN $314M
GPI $4.8M
FY24
AN −$13.8M
GPI $341M
FY25
AN −$198M
GPI $425M
AN
GPI
Return on capital
FY16
AN 11.4%
GPI 10.1%
FY17
AN 11.5%
GPI 14.3%
FY18
AN 11.3%
GPI 10.7%
FY19
AN 11.5%
GPI 10.5%
FY20
AN 7.8%
GPI 14.2%
FY21
AN 28.0%
GPI 21.0%
FY22
AN 27.3%
GPI 20.6%
FY23
AN 21.2%
GPI 16.2%
FY24
AN 16.0%
GPI 13.0%
FY25
AN 14.7%
GPI 8.6%
AN
GPI
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.