AutoNation vs CarMax
AN and KMX side by side, both in retail-auto dealers & gasoline stations. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How AN and KMX compare
CarMax is the larger company, worth 1.3 times as much as AutoNation ($7.9B against $5.9B).
On earnings, AutoNation is cheaper: it trades at 8.6× trailing earnings, against 27.1× for CarMax.
CarMax grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (4.8% versus −1.8% for AutoNation).
AutoNation keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 2.6% compared with 1.1% at CarMax.
AutoNation scores higher on the StockData Score (12 against 4 for CarMax), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | AN | KMX |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $5.9B | $7.9B |
| Share price | $179.64 | $55.58 |
| Change, 1 year | −8.6% | 30.9% |
| Change, 5 years | 45.3% | −64.1% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.81 | 1.15 |
| Employees | 25K | 24K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 12 (better) | 4 |
| Valuation score | 4 (better) | 0 |
| Growth score | 0 | 2 (better) |
| Performance score | 4 (better) | 0 |
| Health score | 4 (better) | 2 |
| Dividend score | 0 | 0 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 8.6× (better) | 27.1× |
| P/S | 0.2× (better) | 0.3× |
| P/B | 2.6× | – |
| EV/EBITDA | 5.1× | – |
| P/FCF | 259× | 6.9× (better) |
| FCF yield | 0.39% | 14.5% (better) |
| Fair value | $231.08 | $37.52 |
| Margin of safety | 22.3% (better) | −48.1% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | −1.8% | 4.8% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 6.3% | 6.4% (better) |
| Net income growth (TTM) | 8.9% (better) | −43.9% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | 22.6% (better) | −39.9% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 31.7% (better) | −18.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 17.7% (better) | 10.3% |
| Operating margin | 4.6% | – |
| Net margin | 2.6% (better) | 1.1% |
| FCF margin | 0.08% | 4.1% (better) |
| Return on equity | 30.2% | – |
| Return on invested capital | 37.2% | – |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 0.24 | – |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.40 | – |
| Interest coverage | 6.4× | – |
| Current ratio | 0.77 | 2.33 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 2.77 (better) | 1.67 |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 5 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Buyback yield | 16.7% (better) | 3.3% |
| Shareholder yield | 16.7% (better) | 3.3% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 73.3% | 104% |
| Held by insiders | 28.1% | 0.64% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$710K | $1.3M (better) |
| Superinvestors holding | 1 | 2 (better) |
| Short interest, % of float | 12.4% | 7.6% |
Go deeper
- AN stock overview
- AN income statement
- AN valuation and score
- KMX stock overview
- KMX income statement
- KMX valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.