Sifting through countless of stocks in the Specialty Retail industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. The company operates franchise dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors. It is also involved in the sale of new and used vehicles, maintenance and repair services, sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service and maintenance contracts, replacement and aftermarket automotive products, collision repair services, and wholesale of parts. In addition, the company operates a heavy and medium duty truck dealership, which offers Freightliner and Western Star branded trucks, as well as offers a range of used trucks. Further, it imports and distributes Western Star heavy-duty trucks, MAN heavy and medium duty trucks and buses, and Dennis Eagle refuse collection vehicles with associated parts, as well as distributes diesel and gas engines, and power systems. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, Inc.

Sonic Automotive, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments: Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment engages in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks; sale of replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repairs, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of third-party financing, extended warranties, service contracts, insurance, and other aftermarket products. The EchoPark segment sells used cars and light trucks; and arranges third-party finance and insurance product sales for its guests in pre-owned vehicle specialty retail locations. The Powersports segment is involved in the sale of new and used powersports vehicles, such as motorcycles, personal watercraft, and all-terrain vehicles; and provision of fixed operations services, and third-party finance and insurance services. Sonic Automotive, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Latest Specialty Retail and Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Penske Automotive Group, Inc. had a $14.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Specialty Retail median of $991.8 million. Penske Automotive Group, Inc.’s stock is up 38.8% in 2026, up 1.3% in the previous five trading days and up 17.79% in the past year.

Currently, Penske Automotive Group, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.0. Penske Automotive Group, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $32.2 billion with a 2.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $13.612 per share for the current fiscal year. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, Sonic Automotive, Inc. had a $2.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 57th percentile of all stocks. Sonic Automotive, Inc.’s stock is up 30.9% in 2026, up 1.7% in the previous five trading days and down 2.53% in the past year.

Currently, Sonic Automotive, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.9. Sonic Automotive, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.5 billion with a 1.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.924 per share for the current fiscal year. Sonic Automotive, Inc. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Penske Automotive Group, Inc.	PAG	C
Sonic Automotive, Inc.	SAH	A

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a Value Score of 50, which is Average. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a Value Score of 86, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Sonic Automotive, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Sonic Automotive, Inc. is considered to have better value than Penske Automotive Group, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Sonic Automotive, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Penske Automotive Group, Inc.	PAG	A
Sonic Automotive, Inc.	SAH	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a Growth Score of 60, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Penske Automotive Group, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Sonic Automotive, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Penske Automotive Group, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Penske Automotive Group, Inc.	PAG	C
Sonic Automotive, Inc.	SAH	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 42, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Growth and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Penske Automotive Group, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 50, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 59.

Sonic Automotive, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 86, Growth Score of 60 and Estimate Revisions Score of 42.

Comparing Penske Automotive Group, Inc., Sonic Automotive and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.