Best Buy vs Lithia Motors
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Best Buy and Lithia Motors side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Best Buy is the larger business, with $41.7B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $37.6B for Lithia Motors.
- Lithia Motors grew revenue faster (4.0%, against 0.4%).
- Lithia Motors kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (4.2% operating margin, against 3.3%).
- Best Buy turned more of its sales into free cash flow (3.0% FCF margin, against 0.0%).
- Best Buy earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (43.9%, against 7.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Best Buy’s earnings: a P/E of 16.3x against 9.5x for Lithia Motors.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Best Buy
BBY
7/11
Gross marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Lithia Motors
LAD
4/11
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | BBY FY26 | LAD FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $20.8B | $6.5B |
| Revenue | $41.7B | $37.6B |
| Free cash flow | $1.3B | $5.8M |
| Net income | $1.1B | $820M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 0.4% | 4.0% |
| 5-year growth | −2.5% | 23.5% |
| Share count change | −2.1% | −6.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 22.5% | 15.2% |
| Operating margin | 3.3% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 2.6% | 2.2% |
| FCF margin | 3.0% | 0.0% |
| Return on capital | 43.9% | 7.8% |
| Return on equity | 37.0% | 12.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$562M | $9.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.3x | 4.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.1B | $1.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 16.3x | 9.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 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.