AutoNation, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Domestic, Import, Premium Luxury, and AutoNation Finance. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services. The company also …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Margins Stable Across CyclesOperating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.79), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
ROIC Sustainably Above PeersROIC at 70.4th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
Key risks
Liquidity ConcernsLiquidity is concerning (score 0.29), raising questions about short-term obligations.
Weak or Negative Cash FlowCash generation is weak (score 0.38), limiting financial flexibility.
The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks
against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.
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AutoNation, Inc. ranks #12 of 31
scored companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships by moat score — the top 39%.
The widest moat in the group is CarGurus, Inc. (CARG)
at 77/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near AN in Auto & Truck Dealerships
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 66
· 15% of the moat score
A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.
Customer Stickiness
Score 53
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 67
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 44
· 17% of the moat score
Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.
Scale & Market Position
Score 56
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
AutoNation, Inc. (AN) scores 59 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #12 of 31 scored companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships, the top 39%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 30 companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (67/100) and its weakest is Resilience (44/100).
How does AutoNation, Inc. compare with other Auto & Truck Dealerships companies?
AutoNation, Inc. ranks #12 of 31 scored companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships by moat score. The widest moat in Auto & Truck Dealerships is CarGurus, Inc. (CARG) at 77/100. The companies ranked closest are Asbury Automotive Group Inc (ABG) at 60 just above it and Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) at 56 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 30 companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is AutoNation, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?
Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.
Which competitive defenses are measured for AutoNation, Inc.?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and AN scores: Pricing Power (64), Cost Advantage (66), Customer Stickiness (53), Capital Efficiency (67), Resilience (44), Scale & Market Position (56). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.
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