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Sonic Automotive (Sonic Automotive) Altman Z-Score

: 3.53 (As of Today)
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The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.

Good Sign:

Altman Z-score of 3.53 is strong.

Sonic Automotive has a Altman Z-Score of 3.53, indicating it is in Safe Zones. This implies the Altman Z-Score is strong.

The zones of discrimination were as such:

When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.

The historical rank and industry rank for Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:

SAH' s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 3.16   Med: 3.35   Max: 3.68
Current: 3.53

During the past 13 years, Sonic Automotive's highest Altman Z-Score was 3.68. The lowest was 3.16. And the median was 3.35.


Sonic Automotive Altman Z-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Sonic Automotive Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Altman Z-Score
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.33 3.25 3.49 3.68 3.57

Sonic Automotive Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Altman Z-Score Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.68 3.53 3.54 3.58 3.57

Competitive Comparison

For the Auto & Truck Dealerships subindustry, Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Sonic Automotive Altman Z-Score Distribution

For the Vehicles & Parts industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score falls into.



Sonic Automotive Altman Z-Score Calculation

Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.

Sonic Automotive's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:

Z=1.2*X1+1.4*X2+3.3*X3+0.6*X4+1.0*X5
=1.2*0.0424+1.4*0.2309+3.3*0.0777+0.6*0.374+1.0*2.6791
=3.53

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.

Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023:
Total Assets was $5,365 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $2,520 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $2,293 Mil.
Retained Earnings was $1,239 Mil.
Pre-Tax Income was 54.6 + 91.2 + 32.5 + 63.6 = $242 Mil.
Interest Expense was -45.1 + -44.6 + -44 + -41 = $-175 Mil.
Revenue was 3584.8 + 3643.5 + 3652.9 + 3491.2 = $14,372 Mil.
Market Cap (Today) was $1,673 Mil.
Total Liabilities was $4,473 Mil.

* Note that for stock reported semi-annually or annually, GuruFocus uses latest annual data as the TTM data.

X1=Working Capital/Total Assets
=(Total Current Assets - Total Current Liabilities)/Total Assets
=(2520.4 - 2292.9)/5364.6
=0.0424

X2=Retained Earnings/Total Assets
=1238.6/5364.6
=0.2309

X3=Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets
=(Pre-Tax Income - Interest Expense)/Total Assets
=(241.9 - -174.7)/5364.6
=0.0777

X4=Market Value Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities
=Market Cap/Total Liabilities
=1672.609/4472.7
=0.374

X5=Revenue/Total Assets
=14372.4/5364.6
=2.6791

The zones of discrimination were as such:

Distress Zones - 1.81 < Grey Zones < 2.99 - Safe Zones

Sonic Automotive has a Altman Z-Score of 3.53 indicating it is in Safe Zones.

Study by Altman found that companies that are in Distress Zone have more than 80% of chances of bankruptcy in two years.


Sonic Automotive  (NYSE:SAH) Altman Z-Score Explanation

X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.

X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.

X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.

X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.

X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.

Read more about Altman Z-Score and the original research.


Be Aware

Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.


Sonic Automotive Altman Z-Score Related Terms

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Sonic Automotive (Sonic Automotive) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
4401 Colwick Road, Charlotte, NC, USA, 28211
Sonic Automotive is one of the largest auto dealership groups in the United States. The company has 108 franchised stores in 18 states, primarily in metropolitan areas in California, Texas, and the Southeast, plus 18 EchoPark and 7 Northwest Motorsports used-vehicle stores, and 16 collision centers. The company derives revenue from new and used vehicles plus parts and collision repair, finance, insurance, and wholesale auctions. Luxury and import dealerships make up about 83% of franchise new-vehicle revenue, while Honda, BMW, Mercedes, and Toyota constitute about 56% of new-vehicle revenue. BMW is the largest brand at about 26%. 2022's revenue was $14 billion, with EchoPark's portion totaling $2.5 billion. Sonic bought RFJ Auto in December 2021, which added $3.2 billion in sales.
Executives
Heath Byrd officer: EVP and CFO 4401 COLWICK ROAD, CHARLOTTE NC 28211
Jeff Dyke officer: EVP of Operations C/O SONIC AUTOMOTIVE, INC., 6415 IDLEWILD ROAD, SUITE 109, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
David Bruton Smith director, officer: Executive Vice President C/O SONIC AUTOMOTIVE, INC., 6415 IDLEWILD ROAD, SUITE 109, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
Paul P. Rusnak 10 percent owner 325 W. COLORADO BLVD.,, PO BOX 70489, PASADENA CA 91117-7489
Michael Edward Hodge director 4401 COLWICK ROAD, CHARLOTTE NC 28211
Keri A Kaiser director 14902 PRESTON ROAD, SUITE 404, #384, DALLAS TX 75254
Victor H Doolan director 35 VIA MONARCA, DANA POINT CA 92629
Marcus G Smith 10 percent owner 5555 CONCORD PARKWAY SOUTH, CONCORD NC 28027
Sonic Financial Corp 10 percent owner 5401 E INDEPENDENCE BLVD, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
O Bruton Smith director, 10 percent owner, officer: Chairman and CEO 5401 E INDEPENDENCE BLVD, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
R Eugene Taylor director BANK OF AMERICA CORP, 100 NORTH TRYON ST NC1-007-57-01, CHARLOTTE NC 28255
Bryan Scott Smith director, officer: Vice Chairman and CSO 5401 E INDEPENDENCE BLVD, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
Harris John W. Iii director 4725 PIEDMONT ROW DRIVE, SUITE 800, CHARLOTTE NC 28210
Byrd Bernard Clinton Jr director 4401 COLWICK ROAD, CHARLOTTE NC 28211
William I Belk director 6100 FAIRVIEW RD #640, CHARLOTTE NC 28210