Sonic Automotive, Inc.
SAH Consumer Cyclical Auto & Truck Dealerships
Sonic Automotive, Inc.’s revenue for fiscal 2025 (year ended December 2025) was $15.2 billion, up 6.53% from fiscal 2024. In the quarter to June 2026, revenue grew 7.57%, EPS grew 235.8%, free cash flow fell 296.5% and total debt rose 12.8%, each against the same quarter a year earlier. Dividend growth for ten consecutive years; insiders bought in the last twelve months.
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Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) Altman Z-score
Sonic Automotive, Inc.'s Altman Z-score for fiscal 2025 is 3.39, in the safe zone (above 2.99).
Altman Z-score, annual
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Annual newest first
| Period | Altman Z-score | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 3.39 | 0.07 |
| FY2024 | 3.32 | (0.25) |
| FY2023 | 3.58 | (0.12) |
| FY2022 | 3.70 | 0.19 |
| FY2021 | 3.51 | 0.25 |
| FY2020 | 3.26 | (0.07) |
| FY2019 | 3.33 | 0.17 |
| FY2018 | 3.16 | (0.02) |
| FY2017 | 3.18 | (0.16) |
| FY2016 | 3.34 | (0.04) |
How fiscal 2025’s score is made up
| Component | This year | Year before | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital / total assets | 0.04 | — | 0.05 | |
| Retained earnings / total assets | 0.25 | — | 0.35 | |
| EBIT / total assets | 0.06 | — | 0.20 | |
| Market value of equity / total liabilities | 0.43 | — | 0.26 | |
| Sales / total assets | 2.54 | — | 2.54 | |
| Altman Z-score | Safe zone | 3.39 | ||
| Z″ Variant for non-manufacturing and asset-light companies (drops the sales/assets term, uses book equity) | Grey zone | 1.71 | ||
Z and Z″ put Sonic Automotive, Inc. in different zones: safe zone by Z, grey zone by Z″.
How the Altman Z-score works
Z = 1.2 × working capital ÷ total assets + 1.4 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 3.3 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 0.6 × market value of equity ÷ total liabilities + 1.0 × revenue ÷ total assets (Altman, 1968). The market value of equity is the close on the last trading day of the fiscal year times weighted basic shares.
Z″ = 6.56 × working capital ÷ total assets + 3.26 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 6.72 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 1.05 × book equity ÷ total liabilities (Altman, Hartzell and Peck, 1995), the variant for non-manufacturing and asset-light companies.
| Zone | Z | Z″ |
|---|---|---|
| Safe zone | above 2.99 | above 2.60 |
| Grey zone | 1.81–2.99 | 1.10–2.60 |
| Distress zone | below 1.81 | below 1.10 |
Not worked out for banks, insurers and REITs, whose balance sheets the model does not describe, nor when a figure is missing or there is no share price in the week to the fiscal year end.
Altman Z-score against peers
| Company | Altman Z-score |
|---|---|
| CARG CarGurus, Inc. compare | 11.6× |
| RUSHB Rush Enterprises, Inc. compare | 3.9× |
| GPI Group 1 Automotive, Inc. compare | 3.4× |
| SAH Sonic Automotive, Inc. | 3.4× |
| ABG Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. compare | 2.6× |
| VVV Valvoline compare | 2.4× |
| BGSI Boyd Group Services Inc. compare | 2.3× |
| ACVA ACV Auctions Inc. compare | 1.3× |
| DRVN Driven Brands Holdings Inc. compare | 0.7× |
What Altman Z-score is
The Altman Z-Score weighs working capital, retained earnings, operating profit, market value and sales against assets and debts to gauge the risk of distress.
1.2 × working capital ÷ total assets + 1.4 × retained earnings ÷ total assets + 3.3 × EBIT ÷ total assets + 0.6 × market value of equity ÷ total liabilities + 1.0 × revenue ÷ total assets