SAHSonic Automotive, Inc.
Is the business good?
The checks split: margins widening, but thin cash backing (0.4×) and returns that lean on debt.
Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.
Operating profit outpaces operating cash flow, watch accruals and working capital. Conversion is worsening vs a year ago.
Positive operating leverage, operating profit is growing faster than sales, so margins widen as the business scales.
Leverage-amplified, a high assets-to-equity ratio does much of the work. ROE 14% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is SAH?
Sonic Automotive, Inc. earns 15% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 5.6 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 3.3%
Operating margin · Auto & Truck Dealerships median 5.1% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- 0.42×
Cash conversion · 1.50× a year ago · the operating profit has not turned into cash yet
- Share count, year on year
- −5.9%
Share count, year on year · bought back, each share owns more of the company
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 0.35% |
| FY2021 | 4.3% |
| FY2022 | 2.2% |
| FY2023 | 2.9% |
| FY2024 | 3.2% |
| FY2025 | 2.4% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 16%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 3.3%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 1.4%
- Free cash flow margin
- −1.8%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $15.5B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- −$281M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $212M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 15%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Auto & Truck Dealerships
Ranks #4 of 13 by RyuScore