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Side-by-side financial comparison of SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Southern Company is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($8.4B vs $3.7B, roughly 2.3× SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 1.6%, a 14.3% 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 3.4%).
Sonic Automotive is a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the fifth largest automotive retailer in the United States as measured by total revenues. The company was founded by O Bruton Smith and completed its initial public offering on the NYSE in 1997.
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...
SAH vs SO — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.7B | $8.4B |
| Net Profit | $60.8M | $1.3B |
| Gross Margin | 16.2% | — |
| Operating Margin | 3.1% | 24.0% |
| Net Margin | 1.6% | 15.9% |
| Revenue YoY | 1.0% | 8.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | — | 5.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.79 | — |
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.
| Q1 26 | $3.7B | $8.4B | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.9B | $7.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.0B | $7.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.7B | $7.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.7B | $7.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.9B | $6.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.5B | $7.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.5B | $6.5B |
| Q1 26 | $60.8M | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 25 | $46.9M | $341.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $46.8M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $-45.6M | $880.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $70.6M | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $58.6M | $466.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $74.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $41.2M | $1.2B |
| Q1 26 | 16.2% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 15.5% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 15.5% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 16.5% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 15.5% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.7% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 15.6% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 15.6% | — |
| Q1 26 | 3.1% | 24.0% | ||
| Q4 25 | 3.2% | 13.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.1% | 33.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | -0.6% | 25.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.0% | 25.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.4% | 16.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.3% | 32.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.1% | 30.0% |
| Q1 26 | 1.6% | 15.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.2% | 4.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.2% | 21.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | -1.2% | 12.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.9% | 16.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.5% | 7.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.1% | 21.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 18.6% |
| Q1 26 | $1.79 | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.39 | $0.38 | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.33 | $1.54 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-1.34 | $0.79 | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.04 | $1.21 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.67 | $0.48 | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.13 | $1.39 | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.18 | $1.09 |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
SAH
| Retail new vehicles | $1.6B | 44% |
| Used vehicles | $1.3B | 34% |
| Parts, service and collision repair | $516.6M | 14% |
| Finance, insurance and other, net | $202.4M | 5% |
| Wholesale vehicles | $71.8M | 2% |
| Fleet new vehicles | $20.7M | 1% |
SO
Segment breakdown not available.
