Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

Sonic Automotive is one of the largest car dealership groups in the United States. It sells new and used cars, trucks, and SUVs from brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Ford at roughly 100 dealership locations across the country. The company also owns EchoPark, a separate chain of used-car stores aimed at budget-conscious buyers.

Sonic makes money by selling vehicles, arranging financing and insurance for customers, and servicing cars in its repair shops. Those finance, insurance, and service departments tend to carry higher margins than vehicle sales alone, which helps offset the thin profits on new car deals. The company operates mainly in the Sun Belt and Southeast regions of the U.S. Its biggest growth bet is expanding EchoPark into a national used-car brand, though that effort has faced losses and execution challenges that remain a key risk to watch.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+1.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-13.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

41.4%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Runway

~11 months

$6M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Sonic Automotive has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin

15.2%

Thin — 15.2% gross margin

Operating Margin

3.6%

Thin — 3.6% operating margin

ROCE

2.8%

Weak — 2.8% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+4.8%

Slow sales growth (4.8% YoY)

EPS YoY

-55.3%

Earnings shrinking (-55.3% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

372%

Turns 372% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

1.7%

Thin free cash flow (1.7%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

3.80

Heavy debt load (3.80)

Interest Cover

2.71x

Tight — interest eats into profit (2.7x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

31.0x

no trend

Pricey — P/E 31.0

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward

+18.8

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (31.0 → 12.1)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.85%

no trend

Small dividend — 1.85% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+14.8%

no trend

Dividend growing fast (14.8% YoY)

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