undamentalytics Newsletter
Sign in

Sonic Automotive Inc key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Sonic Automotive Inc had return on equity of 11.1%, an operating margin of 2.4%, debt equal to 153.1% of equity and a current ratio of 1.09. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2009Dec 20092010Dec 20102011Dec 20112012Dec 20122013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMSept 2026
Gross margin17.1%16.2%15.4%14.8%14.7%14.9%14.7%14.7%14.8%14.5%14.5%14.6%15.4%16.5%15.6%15.4%15.7%15.7%
Operating margin2.4%2.8%2.9%2.9%2.7%2.5%2.3%2.4%2.1%1.8%2.9%0.3%4.3%2.2%2.9%3.2%2.4%3.2%
Net margin0.5%1.4%1.0%1.1%0.9%1.1%0.9%1.0%0.9%0.5%1.4%−0.5%2.8%0.6%1.2%1.5%0.8%1.3%
Free-cash-flow margin6.0%2.6%−0.1%−1.9%−0.4%0.2%−1.1%0.1%−0.7%−0.2%0.4%1.6%4.9%4.5%1.3%2.1%4.7%0.6%
Return on equity8.6%21.6%15.4%17.0%14.3%15.2%12.4%12.8%12.3%6.4%16.3%−5.8%36.9%9.0%19.9%22.1%11.1%19.4%
Return on assets—4.0%3.3%3.5%2.8%3.1%2.6%2.6%2.5%1.4%3.7%−1.3%8.0%1.8%3.4%3.8%2.0%3.3%
Asset turnover—2.923.283.273.032.962.862.702.652.612.662.502.842.812.782.532.552.48
Current ratio—1.081.031.061.091.071.091.051.031.020.981.031.101.201.101.091.090.95
Debt to equity0.0%119.5%104.8%119.5%122.0%116.0%111.7%121.7%131.9%116.1%75.7%89.3%147.4%198.8%190.6%151.8%153.1%166.3%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)—————116.8x155.2x———————————
Effective tax rate—−19.0%38.8%35.4%34.4%39.1%39.3%39.1%12.9%30.4%27.6%—23.9%53.4%26.3%15.7%−31.3%−6.2%
SG&A as % of revenue13.7%12.9%12.0%11.3%11.3%11.6%11.5%11.4%11.6%11.5%10.5%10.5%10.3%11.1%11.1%11.1%11.1%11.4%
Capital spending as % of revenue0.7%1.3%2.1%1.1%1.8%1.6%1.8%2.1%2.4%1.6%1.2%1.3%−2.4%−1.6%−1.4%−1.3%−1.0%−0.3%
Free cash flow ÷ net income>999%188.9%−6.7%−182.7%−38.2%15.0%−120.0%10.9%−76.7%−38.6%31.4%—173.3%715.5%105.4%137.3%604.3%44.2%
Dividends ÷ net income15.4%—6.9%7.6%4.9%5.4%5.9%9.3%9.5%19.0%10.8%—−5.2%−39.0%−22.4%−18.9%−41.1%−22.5%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow1.4%0.7%———398.9%—>999%——39.6%57.7%−18.5%−46.8%−115.8%−25.4%−18.3%−33.9%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

0 of 5 checks passed · September 30, 2026
What it owns · $6.5bn
Short-term assets $3.1bnLonger-term assets $3.4bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $4.3bn
Short-term liabilities $3.2bnShareholders' equity $1.1bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $3.1bn of assets due within a year against $3.2bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities Not assessable from the reported split. Not assessable.
  • More cash than debt $11m of cash against $1.7bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 165% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 132% to 165% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $52m of operating cash flow against $1.7bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Sonic Automotive Inc's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

41 /100

Weak moat

How hard Sonic Automotive's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 9 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 8.0% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 8 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 15.2%, moving by 0.7 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 1 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 2.6%; its worst year was 0.2%.

  • Cash conversion 7 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 7 of 10 years, at a median 0.7% of revenue.

  • Discipline 20 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 21.3% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.1% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (46 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: ABG vs SAHORLY vs SAHAZO vs SAH

More: Automotive Retail stocks compared, Consumer Discretionary sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Sonic Automotive Inc's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 30, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Sonic Automotive Inc.