Lithia Motors, Inc. LAD

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-cyclical

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
55/100
Moderate

Ranked against 30 peers in Auto & Truck Dealerships

About Lithia Motors, Inc.

Lithia Motors, Inc. operates as an automotive retailer in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. It offers a range of products and services fulfilling the entire vehicle ownership lifecycle, including new and used vehicles, financing and insurance products, and aftersales automotive repair and maintenance services. The company … Full LAD analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.79), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Operating Expense Control OpEx growth is controlled (score 0.64), demonstrating operating leverage.

Key risks

  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.43), indicating operational challenges.

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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Pricing Power

Moderate
58
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where LAD ranks in Auto & Truck Dealerships

Lithia Motors, Inc. ranks #14 of 31 scored companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships by moat score — the top 45%. The widest moat in the group is CarGurus, Inc. (CARG) at 77/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
10 Driven Brands Holdings Inc. DRVN 64/100 Moderate
11 Asbury Automotive Group Inc ABG 60/100 Moderate
12 AutoNation, Inc. AN 59/100 Moderate
13 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. GPI 56/100 Moderate
14 Lithia Motors, Inc. LAD 55/100 Moderate
15 Sonic Automotive, Inc. SAH 55/100 Moderate
16 CarMax Inc KMX 48/100 Developing
17 ACV Auctions Inc. ACVA 46/100 Developing
18 America's Car-Mart, Inc. CRMT 46/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How LAD scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 58 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 75 · 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 44 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 58 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 49 · 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 48 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding LAD's moat

What is Lithia Motors, Inc.'s moat score?

Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) scores 55 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #14 of 31 scored companies in Auto & Truck Dealerships, the top 45%. 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 Cost Advantage (75/100) and its weakest is Customer Stickiness (44/100).

How does Lithia Motors, Inc. compare with other Auto & Truck Dealerships companies?

Lithia Motors, Inc. ranks #14 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 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) at 56 just above it and Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) at 55 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 Lithia Motors, 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 Lithia Motors, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and LAD scores: Pricing Power (58), Cost Advantage (75), Customer Stickiness (44), Capital Efficiency (58), Resilience (49), Scale & Market Position (48). 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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