Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) Stock

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $77.69 (as of 2026-08-20), with a market capitalization of $2.49B and a trailing P/E of 11.8. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Sonic Automotive, Inc. is a U.S. automotive retailer operating two segments: Franchised Dealerships and EchoPark. It sells new and used vehicles and related parts and services through franchised locations, while EchoPark focuses on pre-owned vehicle specialty retail and arranging finance and insurance products for customers.

Understand Sonic Automotive, Inc.: how it makes money

Sonic Automotive sells and services cars and light trucks through franchised dealerships (new and used vehicles, parts, maintenance, collision and warranty work, plus finance, insurance and aftermarket products) and through EchoPark for used vehicle retail and related finance and insurance.

Profit quality is tightly linked to gross profit because dealership operating costs are high relative to gross profit, with SG&A as a percentage of gross profit around 71% for Franchised Dealerships and about 79% for EchoPark, so weak gross profit can quickly translate into low or negative segment income.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Franchised$3.1B
EchoPark$0.6B

Business quality (Weak): A high-revenue, low-operating-margin retailer model, where segment-level results likely hinge on maintaining gross profit and controlling the heavy SG&A load as a share of gross profit.

Valuation: At 27× earnings, SAH trades 39% above the Retail average (19×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Franchised Dealerships is the core revenue engine: Franchised Dealership Segment Revenue is 3.1B of 3.7B total revenue, and the Franchised Dealerships segment shows positive segment income (0.15B).
  • Aftermarket and finance offerings are part of the monetization: The company’s franchised business includes replacement parts, maintenance, paint and collision repair, and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, and insurance, which is reflected in revenue categories like Parts, Service and Collision Repair Revenues (0.47B) and Finance, Insurance and Other Net Revenues (0.19B).

Bear case

  • Operating leverage appears limited: Operating margin is 3.6%, and SG&A as a percentage of gross profit is high (71.4% for Franchised Dealerships).
  • EchoPark is loss-making in the latest quarter: EchoPark segment loss is 0.05B, with SG&A as a percentage of gross profit around 78.9% and EchoPark suspended operations revenues of 0.07B.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$77.69
Market Cap$2.49B
P/E Ratio11.8
EV / EBITDA6.3
Price / Book2.43
Price / Sales0.16
FCF Yield9.8%
DCF Value (model)$104.90
DCF Upside vs Price35.0%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$15.15B
Net Margin0.8%
Revenue Growth (YoY)7.6%
EPS Growth (YoY)-235.8%
FCF Growth (YoY)-312.1%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score3.47 (safe)
Piotroski F-Score6/9 (moderate)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E11.8
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)20.5
Industry P/E (Retail)19.5
vs Sector-42.5%
vs Industry-39.7%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderBlackRock, Inc. ($171.97M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Company
SectorConsumer Discretionary
IndustryRetail
CEODavid Bruton Smith
Employees10,800
CountryUS
IPO Date1997-11-12

Related Companies (Business model: Brick-and-Mortar Retail (incl. Omnichannel); 8 closest by market cap; US-domiciled)

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SAH earnings history · SAH institutional & insider holders · SAH KPIs & operating metrics · SAH financials · SAH investor presentations & press releases · SAH SEC filings · SAH peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-20.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.