A Business at a Glance
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SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC
SAH
$3.5B
Mkt Cap
$99.82
+0.72%
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a current P/E ratio of 29.2, compared to its historical median P/E of 9.9. The stock is currently considered Expensive based on its historical valuation range.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a 5-year average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 14.3%. This indicates solid capital allocation.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a market capitalization of $3.4B. It is classified as a mid-cap stock.
Yes, SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) pays a dividend with a trailing twelve-month yield of 1.46%. The company also returns capital through share buybacks, with a buyback yield of 5.39%.
Based on historical P/E analysis, SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) appears expensive. The current P/E of 29.2 is 196% above its historical median of 9.9. The estimated fair value CAGR (P/E method) is 19.5%.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) operates in the Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations industry, within the Consumer Cyclical sector.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) reported annual revenue of $15.2 billion in its most recent fiscal year, based on SEC EDGAR filings.
Item 1. Business. Sonic Automotive, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1997. References to “Sonic,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” used throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to Sonic Automotive, Inc. and its subsidiaries. We are one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States (the “U.S.”) (as measured by reported total revenue). As a result of the way we manage our business, we had three reportable segments as of December 31, 2025: (1) the Franchised Dealerships Segment; (2) the EchoPark Segment; and (3) the Powersports Segment. For management and operational reporting purposes, we group certain businesses together that share management and inventory (principally used vehicles) into “stores.” As of December 31, 2025, we operated 111 stores in the Franchised Dealerships Segment, 18 stores in the EchoPark Segment, and 14 stores in the Powersports Segment.
| Segment | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total_Vehicles | — | — | $11.93B | $11.67B | $12.34B | 45% |
Retail new vehicles | $4.99B | $5.62B | $6.30B | $6.51B | $7.05B | 26% |
Used vehicles | $4.93B | $5.52B | $5.21B | $4.78B | $4.87B | 18% |
Parts, service and collision repair | $1.40B | $1.60B | $1.76B | $1.85B | $2.02B | 7% |
Finance, insurance and other, net | $637M | $679M | $684M | $708M | $799M | 3% |
| Metric | TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 15.2B | 15.2B | 14.2B | 14.4B | 14.0B | 12.4B |
| Net Income | 109M | 119M | 216M | 178M | 89M | 349M |
| EPS | $3.17 | $3.42 | $6.18 | $4.97 | $2.23 | $8.06 |
| Free Cash Flow | 265M | 418M | -78M | -219M | 179M | 8.1M |
| ROIC | 27.4% | 13.9% | 15.1% | 12.6% | 7.9% | 22.1% |
| Gross Margin | 15.9% | 15.7% | 15.4% | 15.6% | 16.5% | 15.4% |
| Debt/Equity | 1.76 | 1.51 | 1.49 | 1.88 | 1.96 | 1.45 |
| Dividends/Share | $1.46 | $1.41 | $1.17 | $1.12 | $0.87 | $0.42 |
| Operating Income | 355M | 368M | 462M | 424M | 314M | 538M |
| Operating Margin | 2.3% | 2.4% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| ROE | 11.1% | 11.1% | 22.1% | 19.9% | 9.0% | 36.9% |
| Shares Outstanding | 34M | 35M | 35M | 36M | 40M | 43M |
| Metric | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 9.2B | 9.6B | 9.7B | 9.9B | 10.0B | 10.5B | 9.8B | 12.4B | 14.0B | 14.4B | 14.2B | 15.2B | 15.2B |
| Gross Margin | 14.9% | 14.7% | 14.7% | 14.8% | 14.5% | 14.5% | 14.6% | 15.4% | 16.5% | 15.6% | 15.4% | 15.7% | 15.9% |
| R&D | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SG&A | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.0B | 1.3B | 1.6B | 1.6B | 1.6B | 1.7B | 1.7B |
| EBIT | 234M | 217M | 233M | 212M | 178M | 308M | 34M | 538M | 314M | 424M | 462M | 368M | 355M |
| Op. Margin | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.9% | 0.3% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| Net Income | 97M | 86M | 93M | 93M | 52M | 144M | -51M | 349M | 89M | 178M | 216M | 119M | 109M |
| Net Margin | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 1.4% | -0.5% | 2.8% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Non-Recurring | 0 | 2.4M | 0 | 900K | 0 | 21M | 268M | 1.4M | 212M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Returns on Capital | |||||||||||||
| ROIC | 10.2% | 8.9% | 9.0% | 10.8% | 6.9% | 13.2% | 2.3% | 22.1% | 7.9% | 12.6% | 15.1% | 13.9% | 27.4% |
| ROE | 15.2% | 12.4% | 12.8% | 12.3% | 6.4% | 16.3% | -5.8% | 36.9% | 9.0% | 19.9% | 22.1% | 11.1% | 11.1% |
| ROA | 3.1% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 1.4% | 3.7% | -1.3% | 8.0% | 1.8% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
| Op. Cash Flow | 161M | 70M | 216M | 163M | 144M | 171M | 281M | 306M | 406M | -16M | 109M | 567M | 407M |
| Free Cash Flow | 15M | -104M | 10M | -71M | -20M | 45M | 154M | 8.1M | 179M | -219M | -78M | 418M | 265M |
| Owner Earnings | 95M | -8.9M | 128M | 63M | 38M | 67M | 178M | 190M | 258M | -181M | -65M | 381M | -778M |
| CapEx | 146M | 173M | 206M | 234M | 164M | 126M | 127M | 298M | 227M | 204M | 187M | 150M | 142M |
| Maint. CapEx | 58M | 69M | 77M | 89M | 94M | 93M | 91M | 101M | 128M | 142M | 150M | 163M | 1.2B |
| Growth CapEx | 88M | 104M | 129M | 145M | 70M | 32M | 36M | 197M | 100M | 61M | 37M | 0 | 0 |
| D&A | 58M | 69M | 77M | 89M | 94M | 93M | 91M | 101M | 128M | 142M | 150M | 163M | 1.2B |
| CapEx/OCF | 91.1% | 248.5% | 95.3% | 143.8% | 113.9% | 73.5% | 45.3% | 97.4% | 55.9% | N/A | 171.5% | 26.4% | 34.9% |
| Capital Allocation | |||||||||||||
| Dividends Paid | 5.3M | 5.1M | 8.7M | 8.9M | 9.8M | 16M | 17M | 18M | 35M | 40M | 41M | 49M | 50M |
| Dividend Yield | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.5% |
| Share Buybacks | 53M | 34M | 100M | 37M | 24M | 2.4M | 72M | 93M | 262M | 178M | 34M | 82M | 183M |
| Buyback Yield | 4.3% | 3.5% | 10.9% | 5.2% | 4.7% | 0.2% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 14.9% | 9.0% | 1.6% | 3.7% | 5.4% |
| Stock-Based Comp | 7.7M | 9.8M | 11M | 11M | 12M | 11M | 12M | 15M | 21M | 23M | 24M | 23M | 22M |
| Debt Repayment | 19M | 19M | 31M | 37M | 45M | 40M | 45M | 58M | 134M | 80M | 165M | 127M | 127M |
| Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
| Net Debt | 754M | 811M | 880M | 1.0B | 939M | 678M | 550M | 1.3B | 1.5B | 1.6B | 1.5B | 1.6B | 1.7B |
| Cash & Equiv. | 4.2M | 3.6M | 3.1M | 6.4M | 5.9M | 29M | 170M | 299M | 229M | 29M | 44M | 6.3M | 5.7M |
| Long-Term Debt | 728M | 781M | 840M | 963M | 919M | 637M | 652M | 1.5B | 1.7B | 1.6B | 1.5B | 1.6B | 1.5B |
| Debt/Equity | 1.14 | 1.12 | 1.22 | 1.30 | 1.15 | 0.75 | 0.88 | 1.45 | 1.96 | 1.88 | 1.49 | 1.51 | 1.76 |
| Interest Coverage | 116.8 | 155.2 | 232.9 | 352.6 | 355.3 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 11.2 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 14.1 |
| Equity | 667M | 729M | 725M | 787M | 823M | 945M | 815M | 1.1B | 895M | 892M | 1.1B | 1.1B | 981M |
| Total Assets | 3.2B | 3.6B | 3.6B | 3.8B | 3.8B | 4.1B | 3.7B | 5.0B | 5.0B | 5.4B | 5.9B | 6.0B | 6.1B |
| Total Liabilities | 2.5B | 2.8B | 2.9B | 3.0B | 3.0B | 3.1B | 2.9B | 3.9B | 4.1B | 4.5B | 4.8B | 4.9B | 18M |
| Intangibles | 84M | 81M | 80M | 75M | 70M | 64M | 64M | 480M | 397M | 417M | 430M | 454M | 437M |
| Retained Earnings | 376M | 457M | 541M | 625M | 671M | 790M | 722M | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.2B | 1.4B | 1.5B | 1.5B |
| Working Capital | 122M | 168M | 94M | 65M | 48M | -49M | 51M | 192M | 361M | 228M | 248M | 235M | 89M |
| Current Assets | 1.8B | 2.1B | 2.0B | 2.0B | 2.0B | 2.0B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.2B | 2.5B | 2.9B | 2.8B | 3.0B |
| Current Liabilities | 1.6B | 1.9B | 1.9B | 2.0B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 1.8B | 1.9B | 1.8B | 2.3B | 2.6B | 2.6B | 2.9B |
| Per Share Data | |||||||||||||
| EPS | 1.84 | 1.70 | 2.03 | 2.09 | 1.20 | 3.30 | -1.21 | 8.06 | 2.23 | 4.97 | 6.18 | 3.42 | 3.17 |
| Owner EPS | 1.80 | -0.18 | 2.78 | 1.41 | 0.89 | 1.53 | 4.20 | 4.39 | 6.50 | -5.06 | -1.85 | 10.97 | -22.89 |
| Book Value | 12.62 | 14.36 | 15.80 | 17.68 | 19.12 | 21.64 | 19.18 | 24.87 | 22.56 | 24.88 | 30.39 | 30.77 | 28.86 |
| Cash Flow/Share | 3.05 | 1.37 | 4.71 | 3.66 | 3.34 | 3.91 | 6.62 | 7.08 | 10.23 | -0.44 | 3.12 | 16.35 | 37.41 |
| Dividends/Share | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.35 | 0.40 | 0.42 | 0.87 | 1.12 | 1.17 | 1.41 | 1.46 |
| Shares Out. | 52.8M | 50.8M | 45.9M | 44.5M | 43.0M | 43.7M | 42.5M | 43.3M | 39.7M | 35.9M | 35.0M | 34.7M | 34.0M |
| Valuation | |||||||||||||
| P/E Ratio | 12.6 | 11.6 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 9.9 | 8.3 | N/A | 5.5 | 19.8 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 18.8 | 31.5 |
| P/FCF | 83.7 | N/A | 90.3 | N/A | N/A | 26.4 | 9.5 | 237.7 | 9.8 | N/A | N/A | 5.3 | 12.8 |
| EV/EBIT | 8.6 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 6.0 | 54.6 | 5.5 | 9.7 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 14.4 |
| Price/Book | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.5 |
| Price/Sales | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| FCF Yield | 1.2% | -10.4% | 1.1% | -9.9% | -3.9% | 3.8% | 10.5% | 0.4% | 10.2% | -11.1% | -3.6% | 18.7% | 7.8% |
| Market Cap | 1.2B | 997M | 916M | 724M | 510M | 1.2B | 1.5B | 1.9B | 1.8B | 2.0B | 2.2B | 2.2B | 3.4B |
| Avg. Price | 20.70 | 20.19 | 15.74 | 17.29 | 17.10 | 20.63 | 29.39 | 44.41 | 42.83 | 47.43 | 55.14 | 69.40 | 99.82 |
| Year-End Price | 23.17 | 19.64 | 19.95 | 16.28 | 11.84 | 27.37 | 34.55 | 44.47 | 44.18 | 55.13 | 62.27 | 64.30 | 99.82 |
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC passes 4 of 9 quality checks, suggesting mixed fundamentals.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC trades at 29.2x trailing earnings, compared to its 15-year median P/E of 9.9x, suggesting it is currently Expensive relative to its historical range. On a free-cash-flow basis, the stock trades at 5.2x vs a median of 9.8x. The company's 5-year average ROIC is 14.3% with a gross margin of 15.8%. Total shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) is 6.9%. At current prices, the estimated annualized return to fair value is +54.8%.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a net profit margin of 0.8%. This is a modest margin.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) generated $418 million in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Positive free cash flow supports dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. This indicates higher leverage, which may increase financial risk.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.42 in its most recent fiscal year.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a return on equity (ROE) of 11.1%. This indicates moderate shareholder returns.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a 5-year average gross margin of 15.8%. This lower margin is typical of capital-intensive or commodity businesses.
The Ledger Terminal provides 16 years of financial data for SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH), sourced directly from SEC EDGAR filings. This includes income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and key financial ratios.
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) has a book value per share of $30.77, based on its most recent annual SEC filing.