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Side-by-side financial comparison of LITHIA MOTORS INC (LAD) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

LITHIA MOTORS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($9.3B vs $8.4B, roughly 1.1× Southern Company). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 1.1%, a 14.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Southern Company posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.0% vs 1.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 0.2%).

Lithia Motors, Inc. is an American nationwide automotive dealership group headquartered in Medford, Oregon. As of 2025, Lithia is the largest automotive retailer in the United States by revenue, ahead of competitors such as AutoNation and Penske Automotive Group. As of December 31, 2024, Lithia operates 459 dealership locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company employs approximately 30,000 people worldwide.

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

LAD vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LAD
LAD
1.1× larger
LAD
$9.3B
$8.4B
SO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SO
SO
+7.0% gap
SO
8.0%
1.0%
LAD
Higher net margin
SO
SO
14.8% more per $
SO
15.9%
1.1%
LAD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
0.2%
LAD

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Revenue
$9.3B
$8.4B
Net Profit
$102.0M
$1.3B
Gross Margin
15.3%
Operating Margin
3.6%
24.0%
Net Margin
1.1%
15.9%
Revenue YoY
1.0%
8.0%
Net Profit YoY
5.9%
5.4%
EPS (diluted)
$4.28

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
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$9.3B
$8.4B
Q4 25
$9.2B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$9.7B
$7.8B
Q2 25
$9.6B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$9.2B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$9.2B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$9.2B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$9.2B
$6.5B
Net Profit
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$102.0M
$1.3B
Q4 25
$136.9M
$341.0M
Q3 25
$217.1M
$1.7B
Q2 25
$256.1M
$880.0M
Q1 25
$209.5M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$216.1M
$466.0M
Q3 24
$209.1M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$214.2M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
15.3%
Q4 25
14.9%
Q3 25
15.2%
Q2 25
15.5%
Q1 25
15.4%
Q4 24
15.0%
Q3 24
15.5%
Q2 24
15.4%
Operating Margin
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
3.6%
24.0%
Q4 25
3.7%
13.1%
Q3 25
4.4%
33.2%
Q2 25
4.4%
25.3%
Q1 25
4.4%
25.9%
Q4 24
4.5%
16.7%
Q3 24
4.6%
32.6%
Q2 24
4.3%
30.0%
Net Margin
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
1.1%
15.9%
Q4 25
1.5%
4.9%
Q3 25
2.2%
21.9%
Q2 25
2.7%
12.6%
Q1 25
2.3%
16.3%
Q4 24
2.4%
7.3%
Q3 24
2.3%
21.1%
Q2 24
2.3%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$4.28
Q4 25
$5.90
$0.38
Q3 25
$8.61
$1.54
Q2 25
$9.87
$0.79
Q1 25
$7.94
$1.21
Q4 24
$8.09
$0.48
Q3 24
$7.80
$1.39
Q2 24
$7.87
$1.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
Total DebtLower is stronger
$6.4B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$6.4B
Total Assets
$25.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.01×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.6B
Q3 25
$206.5M
$3.3B
Q2 25
$202.8M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$234.4M
$2.3B
Q4 24
$1.1B
Q3 24
$209.8M
$1.0B
Q2 24
$516.4M
$1.2B
Total Debt
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$6.4B
Q4 25
$9.7B
$65.6B
Q3 25
$64.6B
Q2 25
$63.0B
Q1 25
$62.9B
Q4 24
$8.2B
$58.8B
Q3 24
$61.3B
Q2 24
$59.9B
Stockholders' Equity
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$6.4B
Q4 25
$6.6B
$36.0B
Q3 25
$6.8B
$38.3B
Q2 25
$7.0B
$37.3B
Q1 25
$6.8B
$37.2B
Q4 24
$6.7B
$33.2B
Q3 24
$6.6B
$36.9B
Q2 24
$6.4B
$36.1B
Total Assets
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$25.7B
Q4 25
$25.1B
$155.7B
Q3 25
$24.5B
$153.2B
Q2 25
$24.2B
$148.9B
Q1 25
$23.5B
$148.1B
Q4 24
$23.1B
$145.2B
Q3 24
$23.3B
$144.0B
Q2 24
$23.2B
$141.9B
Debt / Equity
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
1.01×
Q4 25
1.47×
1.82×
Q3 25
1.69×
Q2 25
1.69×
Q1 25
1.69×
Q4 24
1.23×
1.77×
Q3 24
1.66×
Q2 24
1.66×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$212.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.08×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
$212.2M
Q4 25
$123.7M
$2.6B
Q3 25
$-98.4M
$3.8B
Q2 25
$9.3M
$2.2B
Q1 25
$322.1M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$61.8M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$219.3M
$3.6B
Q2 24
$-148.4M
$2.7B
Free Cash Flow
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$30.5M
$-1.7B
Q3 25
$-207.3M
$559.0M
Q2 25
$-70.8M
$-619.0M
Q1 25
$253.4M
$-1.2B
Q4 24
$-17.7M
$-576.0M
Q3 24
$157.1M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$-278.5M
$563.0M
FCF Margin
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.3%
-24.2%
Q3 25
-2.1%
7.1%
Q2 25
-0.7%
-8.9%
Q1 25
2.8%
-15.3%
Q4 24
-0.2%
-9.1%
Q3 24
1.7%
17.9%
Q2 24
-3.0%
8.7%
Capex Intensity
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
1.0%
Q4 25
1.0%
61.4%
Q3 25
1.1%
41.1%
Q2 25
0.8%
40.2%
Q1 25
0.7%
31.3%
Q4 24
0.9%
43.4%
Q3 24
0.7%
31.8%
Q2 24
1.4%
32.9%
Cash Conversion
LAD
LAD
SO
SO
Q1 26
2.08×
Q4 25
0.90×
7.62×
Q3 25
-0.45×
2.21×
Q2 25
0.04×
2.48×
Q1 25
1.54×
0.98×
Q4 24
0.29×
4.66×
Q3 24
1.05×
2.36×
Q2 24
-0.69×
2.23×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LAD
LAD

New vehicle$4.4B47%
Used vehicle$3.5B38%
Aftersales$1.0B11%
Finance and insurance$359.7M4%

SO
SO

Segment breakdown not available.

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