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AN vs GPI
Which Stock Would AI Choose? AutoNation (AN) vs. Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- AutoNation (AN) and Group 1 Automotive (GPI) are two of the largest automotive retailers in the U.S., both benefiting from strong franchised dealership networks and diversified revenue streams across new vehicles, used vehicles, parts, service, and finance & insurance (F&I).
- Recent market activity shows AN demonstrating steadier price resilience, while GPI has experienced more pronounced volatility tied to its broader international footprint, including operations in the U.K. and Latin America.
- Both companies have pursued aggressive acquisition strategies in recent quarters, but GPI's international diversification introduces additional currency and geopolitical risk factors that AN's primarily domestic model avoids.
- On valuation metrics, GPI tends to trade at a modest discount to AN on forward earnings multiples, reflecting the market's differing assessment of their geographic exposures and growth trajectories.
- Tickeron's AI-driven analysis evaluates both stocks across trend strength, volatility profiles, and sector tailwinds, offering a data-informed perspective on relative positioning in the current automotive retail landscape.
Introduction
The automotive retail sector sits at a fascinating intersection of cyclical consumer demand, inventory normalization, and evolving mobility trends. For investors and traders seeking exposure to this space, two dominant players frequently emerge in comparative analysis: AN (AutoNation, Inc.) and GPI (Group 1 Automotive, Inc.). Both are Fortune 500 companies with extensive franchised dealership networks, yet their strategic footprints, growth mechanisms, and risk profiles diverge in meaningful ways. This comparison examines how these two automotive retail giants stack up across recent performance, business fundamentals, and market positioning — providing a practical framework for those evaluating which name better aligns with current market conditions.
AN Overview and Recent Performance
AutoNation (AN), headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, stands as one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States, operating over 300 franchised dealership locations predominantly across Sun Belt and high-growth metropolitan markets. The company's diversified revenue model spans new vehicle sales, pre-owned vehicles, aftersales service, parts, and a growing F&I (Finance & Insurance) segment, which has become an increasingly vital margin contributor. Recent weeks have seen AN shares maintain a relatively constructive trajectory, buoyed by healthy consumer demand in key markets and disciplined inventory management.
Several factors have influenced AN's recent sentiment. The company's strategic focus on domestic markets has insulated it from currency fluctuations and international macro uncertainty that affect more geographically diversified peers. Additionally, AN's ongoing investments in digital retail capabilities and its proprietary AutoNation USA pre-owned superstore format reflect a deliberate pivot toward higher-margin used vehicle operations. While broader auto retail headwinds — including elevated interest rates affecting consumer financing costs — remain a sector-wide concern, AN's scale advantages and geographic concentration in faster-growing U.S. regions have provided a measure of relative stability during recent market activity.
GPI Overview and Recent Performance
Group 1 Automotive (GPI), based in Houston, Texas, operates a global network of approximately 200 dealerships across the United States and the United Kingdom, with additional presence in Latin America. Like AN, GPI generates revenue through new and used vehicle sales, parts and service, and F&I operations. However, GPI's international footprint — particularly its meaningful U.K. operations — distinguishes it from its more domestically-focused peer and introduces different dynamics into the investment equation.
In recent weeks, GPI shares have exhibited greater price variability compared to AN, partly reflecting the complexity of managing operations across multiple regulatory and economic environments. The U.K. market, a significant contributor to GPI's revenue, has faced its own set of macroeconomic pressures, including inflation dynamics and consumer confidence fluctuations that differ from U.S. trends. On the positive side, GPI's acquisition strategy has been notably aggressive, with the company completing several dealership acquisitions that expanded its geographic reach and brand portfolio — moves that have the potential to drive incremental revenue and cost synergies over time. The company's parts and service segment, typically a high-margin, recession-resistant business line, continues to provide a stabilizing counterbalance to the more cyclical vehicle sales operations.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Geographic Exposure and Diversification. This represents the most defining contrast. AN's operations are almost entirely U.S.-based, concentrated in Sun Belt states with favorable population and economic growth tailwinds. GPI, by contrast, generates a material portion of revenue from the U.K. and Latin America, offering both diversification benefits and additional layers of complexity — including foreign exchange exposure and distinct regulatory frameworks.
Scale and Margin Profiles. AN operates a larger number of U.S. dealerships and benefits from deeper domestic scale economies. GPI's more compact network, combined with its international mix, has historically produced slightly different margin characteristics, with parts and service performance varying by geography.
Growth Strategy. Both companies are acquisitive, but GPI's international deal-making, particularly in the U.K., signals an appetite for cross-border expansion that AN has not pursued. AN has instead focused on organic investments in digital transformation and its pre-owned superstore concept, representing a more internally-driven growth philosophy.
Risk Considerations. AN's primary risks center on U.S. consumer health, interest rate sensitivity, and manufacturer relationships. GPI layers on top of these the variables of currency translation, international economic cycles, and geopolitical factors — a broader risk set that the market sometimes penalizes with a lower valuation multiple.
Sector Sentiment and Momentum. Both stocks remain sensitive to the same overarching industry narratives: new vehicle supply normalization, affordability challenges, and the gradual shift toward electrified powertrains. In recent weeks, AN has generally exhibited steadier price behavior, while GPI has shown wider trading ranges, reflecting the market's ongoing reassessment of international automotive retail exposure.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on an analysis of observable trend consistency, volatility characteristics, and sector-level positioning, Tickeron's AI framework would likely express a marginal preference for AN in the current environment. The rationale centers on AN's more concentrated exposure to U.S. markets, which have demonstrated comparatively resilient consumer spending patterns, and its steadier price trend structure in recent market activity. GPI's international diversification is not inherently disadvantageous — and may prove advantageous under different conditions — but the additional variables of currency fluctuation and multi-jurisdictional economic divergence introduce complexity that can weigh on trend reliability in the near term. This assessment reflects a probabilistic evaluation of current data rather than a fixed conclusion, and market conditions may shift the relative attractiveness of either name over time.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is AN is a Hold and GPI is a Buy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
AN’s FA Score shows that 2 FA rating(s) are green whileGPI’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s).
- AN’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- GPI’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
AN’s TA Score shows that 6 TA indicator(s) are bullish while GPI’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- AN’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 4 bearish.
- GPI’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 7 bearish.
Price Growth
AN (@Automotive Aftermarket) experienced а +2.03% price change this week, while GPI (@Automotive Aftermarket) price change was -13.33% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Automotive Aftermarket industry was +1.31%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +1.42%, and the average quarterly price growth was -12.89%.
Reported Earning Dates
AN is expected to report earnings on Oct 22, 2026.
GPI is expected to report earnings on Oct 28, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Automotive Aftermarket (+1.31% weekly)The Automotive Aftermarket consists of the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of vehicle parts and accessories, after the sale of the automobile by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to the consumer. The aftermarket parts many not be manufactured by the OEM. According to a Technavio study, the US automotive parts aftermarket size is estimated to grow by USD 24.33 billion during 2018-2022 (CAGR 3%). Like many other industries, the automotive aftermarket is also being intensely penetrated by the digital boom. The online auto parts sales market is predicted to exceed $13B by 2020 (according to a study by Mirakl).
| AN | GPI | AN / GPI | |
| Capitalization | 7.11B | 3.42B | 208% |
| EBITDA | 1.75B | 818M | 214% |
| Gain YTD | 2.867 | -26.836 | -11% |
| P/E Ratio | 9.85 | 11.86 | 83% |
| Revenue | 27.4B | 22.2B | 123% |
| Total Cash | 53.3M | 164M | 33% |
| Total Debt | 11.3B | 5.78B | 196% |
AN | GPI | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 26 | 31 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 74 Overvalued | 19 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 21 | 62 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 31 | 75 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 45 | 63 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 72 | 46 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
GPI's Valuation (19) in the Specialty Stores industry is somewhat better than the same rating for AN (74). This means that GPI’s stock grew somewhat faster than AN’s over the last 12 months.
AN's Profit vs Risk Rating (21) in the Specialty Stores industry is somewhat better than the same rating for GPI (62). This means that AN’s stock grew somewhat faster than GPI’s over the last 12 months.
AN's SMR Rating (31) in the Specialty Stores industry is somewhat better than the same rating for GPI (75). This means that AN’s stock grew somewhat faster than GPI’s over the last 12 months.
AN's Price Growth Rating (45) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as GPI (63). This means that AN’s stock grew similarly to GPI’s over the last 12 months.
GPI's P/E Growth Rating (46) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as AN (72). This means that GPI’s stock grew similarly to AN’s over the last 12 months.
| AN | GPI | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 84% | 4 days ago 75% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 68% | 4 days ago 76% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 60% | 4 days ago 58% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 64% | 4 days ago 75% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 68% | 4 days ago 63% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 66% | 4 days ago 60% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 66% | 6 days ago 72% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 60% | 4 days ago 63% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 70% | 4 days ago 78% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 55% | 4 days ago 50% |
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| 1 Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs / NAME | Price $ | Chg $ | Chg % |
| EPAI | 26.05 | 0.23 | +0.91% |
| Harbor AI Inflection Strategy ETF | |||
| DBMF | 30.92 | 0.08 | +0.26% |
| iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | |||
| DFP | 20.78 | -0.07 | -0.34% |
| FLAHERTY & CRUMRINE DYNAMIC PREFERRED AND Income FUND | |||
| TSLS | 66.77 | -0.50 | -0.74% |
| Direxion Daily TSLA Bear 1X Shares | |||
| DTAN | 33.09 | -0.25 | -0.74% |
| Sparkline International IntangibleValETF | |||
AN and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, AN has been closely correlated with PAG. These tickers have moved in lockstep 79% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if AN jumps, then PAG could also see price increases.
GPI and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, GPI has been closely correlated with ABG. These tickers have moved in lockstep 78% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if GPI jumps, then ABG could also see price increases.