AZO vs LAD
AutoZone Inc. and Lithia Motors Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | AZO | LAD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $18.9B | $37.6B |
| Net income | $2.5B | $819.6M |
| Gross margin | 52.6% | 15.2% |
| Net margin | 13.2% | 2.2% |
| Return on equity | · | 12.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $144.87 | $32.32 |
| Dividend / share | · | $2.18 |
| Payout ratio | · | 6.7% |
| Free cash flow | $1.8B | $5.8M |
| Equity | $-3.4B | $6.6B |
| Net debt / equity | · | 1.41× |
| Current ratio | 0.88× | 1.17× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 8.4% | 23.4% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 7.6% | 11.7% |
LAD bills 2.0× the revenue of AZO, and AZO keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (13.2% against 2.2%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | AZO | LAD |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $18.9B | $37.6B |
| FY2024 | $18.5B | $36.2B |
| FY2023 | $17.5B | $31.0B |
| FY2022 | $16.3B | $28.2B |
| FY2021 | $14.6B | $22.8B |
| FY2020 | $12.6B | $13.1B |
| FY2019 | $11.9B | $12.7B |
| FY2018 | $11.2B | $11.8B |
| FY2017 | $10.9B | $10.1B |
| FY2016 | $10.6B | $8.7B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | AZO | LAD |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.5B | $819.6M |
| FY2024 | $2.7B | $796.7M |
| FY2023 | $2.5B | $1.0B |
| FY2022 | $2.4B | $1.3B |
| FY2021 | $2.2B | $1.1B |
| FY2020 | $1.7B | $470.3M |
| FY2019 | $1.6B | $271.5M |
| FY2018 | $1.3B | $265.7M |
| FY2017 | $1.3B | $245.2M |
| FY2016 | $1.2B | $197.1M |
17 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$18,696,183,000 | LAD |
| FY2024 | −$17,697,932,000 | LAD |
| FY2023 | −$13,585,091,000 | LAD |
| FY2022 | −$11,935,570,000 | LAD |
| FY2021 | −$8,202,115,000 | LAD |
| FY2020 | −$494,533,000 | LAD |
| FY2019 | −$808,957,000 | LAD |
| FY2018 | −$600,323,000 | LAD |
| FY2017 | +$802,176,000 | AZO |
| FY2016 | +$1,957,476,000 | AZO |
| FY2015 | +$2,323,088,000 | AZO |
| FY2014 | +$4,084,987,000 | AZO |
| FY2013 | +$5,141,781,000 | AZO |
| FY2012 | +$5,287,376,000 | AZO |
| FY2011 | +$5,440,227,000 | AZO |
| FY2010 | +$5,325,996,000 | AZO |
| FY2009 | +$5,088,195,000 | AZO |
The higher-revenue side has changed between AZO and LAD over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
17 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +11.0 pp | AZO |
| FY2024 | +12.1 pp | AZO |
| FY2023 | +11.2 pp | AZO |
| FY2022 | +10.5 pp | AZO |
| FY2021 | +10.2 pp | AZO |
| FY2020 | +10.1 pp | AZO |
| FY2019 | +11.5 pp | AZO |
| FY2018 | +9.7 pp | AZO |
| FY2017 | +9.3 pp | AZO |
| FY2016 | +9.4 pp | AZO |
| FY2015 | +9.1 pp | AZO |
| FY2014 | +8.7 pp | AZO |
| FY2013 | +8.5 pp | AZO |
| FY2012 | +8.4 pp | AZO |
| FY2011 | +8.3 pp | AZO |
| FY2010 | +9.4 pp | AZO |
| FY2009 | +9.1 pp | AZO |
AZO has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 17 fiscal years.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
AZO's net margin has been more volatile than LAD's over the 17 comparable fiscal years — 1.7 percentage points of standard deviation against 1.0.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
AZO led in net margin in every one of the 17 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.