Sonic Automotive vs Valvoline
Sonic Automotive reported revenue of $15.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 8.9 times Valvoline's $1.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Sonic Automotive's revenue grew 6.5% in its latest year, and Valvoline's grew 5.6%. Sonic Automotive had an operating margin of 2.4%, against 22.8% at Valvoline. Free cash flow was $418 million at Sonic Automotive and $38 million at Valvoline. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 31 and September 30), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Sonic Automotive | Valvoline | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Sep 30, 2025 |
| Revenue | $15.2B | $1.7B |
| Revenue growth | 6.5% | 5.6% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 9.2% | 18.7% |
| Gross margin | 15.7% | 38.5% |
| Operating margin | 2.4% | 22.8% |
| Net margin | 0.8% | 12.3% |
| Free cash flow | $418M | $38M |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.8% | 2.2% |
| Return on capital | 12.2% | 18.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.7x | 2.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $131M | $77M |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.9% | −1.8% |
| Last close | $61.26 | $31.94 |
| P/E at the last close | 9.8× | 39.9× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $6.0 million, sold $9.6 million | bought $953,666, sold $645,342 |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Sonic AutomotiveValvoline
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Sonic AutomotiveValvoline
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Sonic AutomotiveValvoline
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Sonic Automotive and Valvoline pages.