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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING HOLDINGS INC (AXL) and Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING HOLDINGS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.4B vs $943.2M, roughly 1.5× Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc.). Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 4.8% vs -5.4%, a 10.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (0.6% vs 0.2%). Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($57.5M vs $54.7M). Over the past eight quarters, Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (1.9% CAGR vs -7.2%).

American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM), headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is an American manufacturer of automobile driveline and drivetrain components and systems.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. is an American international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies with revenues of more than $3.9 billion annually.

AXL vs SBH — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AXL
AXL
1.5× larger
AXL
$1.4B
$943.2M
SBH
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SBH
SBH
+0.3% gap
SBH
0.6%
0.2%
AXL
Higher net margin
SBH
SBH
10.3% more per $
SBH
4.8%
-5.4%
AXL
More free cash flow
SBH
SBH
$2.8M more FCF
SBH
$57.5M
$54.7M
AXL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SBH
SBH
Annualised
SBH
1.9%
-7.2%
AXL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Revenue
$1.4B
$943.2M
Net Profit
$-75.3M
$45.6M
Gross Margin
10.2%
51.2%
Operating Margin
-2.4%
8.1%
Net Margin
-5.4%
4.8%
Revenue YoY
0.2%
0.6%
Net Profit YoY
-449.6%
-25.3%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.62
$0.45

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$1.4B
$943.2M
Q3 25
$1.5B
$947.1M
Q2 25
$1.5B
$933.3M
Q1 25
$1.4B
$883.1M
Q4 24
$1.4B
$937.9M
Q3 24
$1.5B
$935.0M
Q2 24
$1.6B
$942.3M
Q1 24
$1.6B
$908.4M
Net Profit
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$-75.3M
$45.6M
Q3 25
$9.2M
$49.9M
Q2 25
$39.3M
$45.7M
Q1 25
$7.1M
$39.2M
Q4 24
$-13.7M
$61.0M
Q3 24
$10.0M
$48.1M
Q2 24
$18.2M
$37.7M
Q1 24
$20.5M
$29.2M
Gross Margin
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
10.2%
51.2%
Q3 25
12.6%
52.2%
Q2 25
13.1%
51.5%
Q1 25
12.3%
52.0%
Q4 24
11.2%
50.8%
Q3 24
11.4%
51.2%
Q2 24
13.3%
51.0%
Q1 24
12.4%
51.0%
Operating Margin
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
-2.4%
8.1%
Q3 25
3.2%
8.4%
Q2 25
3.6%
8.4%
Q1 25
3.0%
7.9%
Q4 24
2.6%
10.7%
Q3 24
2.8%
8.8%
Q2 24
5.3%
7.6%
Q1 24
4.8%
6.6%
Net Margin
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
-5.4%
4.8%
Q3 25
0.6%
5.3%
Q2 25
2.6%
4.9%
Q1 25
0.5%
4.4%
Q4 24
-1.0%
6.5%
Q3 24
0.7%
5.1%
Q2 24
1.1%
4.0%
Q1 24
1.3%
3.2%
EPS (diluted)
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$-0.62
$0.45
Q3 25
$0.07
$0.49
Q2 25
$0.32
$0.44
Q1 25
$0.06
$0.38
Q4 24
$-0.11
$0.58
Q3 24
$0.08
$0.45
Q2 24
$0.15
$0.36
Q1 24
$0.17
$0.27

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$708.9M
$157.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$4.0B
$842.5M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$640.0M
$823.6M
Total Assets
$6.7B
$2.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
6.31×
1.02×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$708.9M
$157.2M
Q3 25
$714.1M
$149.2M
Q2 25
$586.5M
$112.8M
Q1 25
$549.2M
$92.2M
Q4 24
$552.9M
$105.5M
Q3 24
$542.5M
$108.0M
Q2 24
$519.9M
$97.4M
Q1 24
$469.8M
$97.2M
Total Debt
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$4.0B
$842.5M
Q3 25
$2.6B
$862.0M
Q2 25
$2.6B
$882.4M
Q1 25
$2.6B
$902.8M
Q4 24
$2.6B
$938.1M
Q3 24
$2.6B
$978.3M
Q2 24
$2.7B
$978.9M
Q1 24
$2.7B
$978.4M
Stockholders' Equity
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$640.0M
$823.6M
Q3 25
$718.4M
$794.2M
Q2 25
$673.0M
$762.9M
Q1 25
$596.3M
$699.8M
Q4 24
$562.8M
$656.5M
Q3 24
$616.3M
$628.5M
Q2 24
$609.6M
$577.7M
Q1 24
$621.4M
$550.9M
Total Assets
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$6.7B
$2.9B
Q3 25
$5.3B
$2.9B
Q2 25
$5.3B
$2.7B
Q1 25
$5.1B
$2.7B
Q4 24
$5.1B
$2.7B
Q3 24
$5.3B
$2.8B
Q2 24
$5.3B
$2.7B
Q1 24
$5.4B
$2.7B
Debt / Equity
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
6.31×
1.02×
Q3 25
3.61×
1.09×
Q2 25
3.86×
1.16×
Q1 25
4.38×
1.29×
Q4 24
4.58×
1.43×
Q3 24
4.28×
1.56×
Q2 24
4.42×
1.69×
Q1 24
4.40×
1.78×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$120.5M
$93.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$54.7M
$57.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
4.0%
6.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.8%
3.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.05×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$155.1M
$216.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$120.5M
$93.2M
Q3 25
$143.3M
$120.9M
Q2 25
$91.9M
$69.4M
Q1 25
$55.9M
$51.1M
Q4 24
$151.2M
$33.5M
Q3 24
$143.6M
$110.7M
Q2 24
$142.8M
$47.9M
Q1 24
$17.8M
$36.9M
Free Cash Flow
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
$54.7M
$57.5M
Q3 25
$79.2M
$78.0M
Q2 25
$34.6M
$49.1M
Q1 25
$-13.4M
$32.2M
Q4 24
$73.2M
$13.4M
Q3 24
$70.4M
$73.3M
Q2 24
$94.0M
$28.7M
Q1 24
$-30.2M
$22.8M
FCF Margin
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
4.0%
6.1%
Q3 25
5.3%
8.2%
Q2 25
2.3%
5.3%
Q1 25
-0.9%
3.6%
Q4 24
5.3%
1.4%
Q3 24
4.7%
7.8%
Q2 24
5.8%
3.1%
Q1 24
-1.9%
2.5%
Capex Intensity
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
4.8%
3.8%
Q3 25
4.3%
4.5%
Q2 25
3.7%
2.2%
Q1 25
4.9%
2.1%
Q4 24
5.6%
2.1%
Q3 24
4.9%
4.0%
Q2 24
3.0%
2.0%
Q1 24
3.0%
1.6%
Cash Conversion
AXL
AXL
SBH
SBH
Q4 25
2.05×
Q3 25
15.58×
2.42×
Q2 25
2.34×
1.52×
Q1 25
7.87×
1.30×
Q4 24
0.55×
Q3 24
14.36×
2.30×
Q2 24
7.85×
1.27×
Q1 24
0.87×
1.26×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AXL
AXL

Driveline$748.4M54%
Other$345.7M25%
Metal Forming$289.8M21%

SBH
SBH

Sally Beauty Supply$531.6M56%
Beauty Systems Group$411.6M44%

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