ABG vs AN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
AN is the larger of the two ($5.35B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (6.85x forward earnings, beta 0.81). ABG is the smaller challenger ($3.06B), cheaper on forward earnings (5.85x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
ABG vs AN: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | ABG | AN | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $3.06B | $5.35B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 5.85 | 6.85 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 6.34 | 7.49 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.78 | 0.81 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 10% of range | 12% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 0.78 | 2.37 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: ABG is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how ABG and AN affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ABG and AN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ABG and AN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) do?
Asbury Automotive Group is a Fortune 500 automotive retailer headquartered in Atlanta, operating around 171 new-vehicle dealerships representing roughly 223 franchises and 36 brands as of year-end 2025, alongside about 39 collision centers. Over 70 percent of its new-vehicle revenue comes from luxury and import brands, and its store banners include Herb Chambers in the Northeast, Park Place and McDavid in Texas, Koons around Washington, D.C., and the Larry H. Miller group in the West. Beyond selling new and used cars, Asbury earns higher-margin income from parts and service and from finance-and-insurance products through Total Care Auto, its in-house provider of service contracts and vehicle protection plans. In September 2026 it opened a new Herb Chambers Toyota of Boston store.
What does AutoNation (AN) do?
AutoNation operates a nationwide network of franchised new-vehicle dealerships across three segments (Domestic brands like GM and Ford, Import brands like Toyota and Honda, and Premium Luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW), alongside standalone AutoNation USA used-vehicle stores, collision centers, and an in-house lending arm, AutoNation Finance. The company sells new and used vehicles, but its most profitable work is aftersales (parts, service, and repair) and finance and insurance products, which together make up roughly 22% of revenue yet contribute around 75% of gross profit.
ABG vs AN: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- ABG drivers: Parts and service and F&I durability; Portfolio optimization and buybacks.
- AN drivers: Aftersales and higher-margin mix; Used vehicles and AutoNation USA.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Auto retail is highly cyclical and sensitive to interest rates, vehicle affordability, and consumer confidence, so a downturn in new-vehicle demand can pressure both volumes and gross profit per unit. For AN, auto retailing is cyclical and sensitive to interest rates, vehicle affordability, and consumer confidence, all of which can pressure unit volumes and gross profit per vehicle.
ABG or AN: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ABG if you believe its drivers more; AN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ABG and AN guides.
ABG vs AN: the full fundamentals
ABG. As of October 16, 2026 the shares closed near $173, down from about $212 in July, giving a market cap around $3.1 billion against roughly $18 billion of trailing revenue and a price-to-book ratio near 0.8x. The multiple compressed even though Q2 2026 adjusted EPS beat estimates, because investors are pricing a softer 2026 (consensus EPS about $25.76) and the company's leverage. Consensus for Q3 2026, reported October 27, is about $6.56 per share on roughly $4.53 billion of revenue; the average analyst target is near $238.
AN. AutoNation trades at about 7.6 times trailing and 6.9 times forward earnings and about 0.2 times sales, low even by auto-dealer standards after a roughly 21% decline in 2026. Consensus still expects EPS to grow from about $21 in 2026 to about $23.62 in 2027, so the multiple is pricing in risk to those numbers rather than a current earnings decline. The 12 covering analysts average a target near $222.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): ABG shows revenue (ttm) ~$18.0B, q2 2026 revenue ~$4.38B, q2 2026 adjusted eps ~$6.82 (vs ~$6.31 est.), net income (ttm) ~$510M (~2.8% margin); AN shows revenue (ttm) ~$27.5B, q2 2026 revenue ~$6.93B (down ~0.6% year over year), q2 2026 adjusted eps ~$5.56 (vs ~$5.46 expected), net income (ttm) ~$775M (profit margin ~2.8%).
The bottom line: ABG vs AN
ABG and AN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ABG and AN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how ABG or AN fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Asbury Automotive Group with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how ABG fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between ABG and AN?
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Asbury Automotive Group is a Fortune 500 automotive retailer headquartered in Atlanta, operating around 171 new-vehicle dealerships representing roughly 223 franchises and 36 brands as of year-end 2025, alongside about 39 collision centers. AutoNation operates a nationwide network of franchised new-vehicle dealerships across three segments (Domestic brands like GM and Ford, Import brands like Toyota and Honda, and Premium Luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW), alongside standalone AutoNation USA used-vehicle stores, collision centers, and an in-house lending arm, AutoNation Finance. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is ABG or AN the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. AN is the larger incumbent; ABG is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, ABG or AN?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), ABG trades at 5.85x and AN at 6.85x, so ABG is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both ABG and AN?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of ABG vs AN?
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ABG: Auto retail is highly cyclical and sensitive to interest rates, vehicle affordability, and consumer confidence, so a downturn in new-vehicle demand can pressure both volumes and gross profit per unit. New-vehicle margins have been normalizing lower from unusually high pandemic-era levels, and analysts expect 2026 EPS to fall about 8% to roughly $25.76 before recovering in 2027. The company's leverage is significant (debt-to-equity around 141%), so higher-for-longer interest rates raise financing costs on both floor-plan inventory and corporate debt. Longer term, the shift toward electric vehicles and any move toward agency or direct-to-consumer sales models could reshape dealer economics. Integration risk from large acquisitions and exposure to manufacturer incentive policies add further uncertainty, and the 2026 slide in the shares shows how quickly sentiment on dealer stocks can turn. AN: Auto retailing is cyclical and sensitive to interest rates, vehicle affordability, and consumer confidence, all of which can pressure unit volumes and gross profit per vehicle. New-vehicle pricing and margins have been normalizing lower from post-pandemic highs, and same-store new-unit sales have declined. The finance arm adds credit and funding risk if loan losses rise in a weaker economy. The business is capital-intensive, carries meaningful debt and floorplan financing (about $11.3 billion of total debt against about $53 million of cash at mid-2026, by Yahoo Finance's measure), and depends on manufacturer relationships and inventory allocations. Longer term, the shift to electric vehicles and any changes to the franchised-dealer model could reshape the industry. Sell-side sentiment has cooled in recent weeks, with several brokers cutting targets in October 2026 on mounting dealer headwinds.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell ABG or AN; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.