Forensic Analysis · Retail / Consumer Discretionary · as of Aug 11, 2026

Sonic Automotive Inc (SAH)

A forensic read on Sonic Automotive Inc built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

D · Weak — demands caution

Forensic grade

Grey Zone

Financial health

2.0

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

12.5

P / E (ttm)

11.1%

ROE

$2.6B

Market cap

1.93%

Dividend yield

6.5%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (red flags, auditor quality, say on pay, board independence). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Sonic Automotive Inc earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 2.0, placing it in the Grey zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns — halted.

What the filings flag

stopped

FY2020→FY2025

Shareholder returns — halted. Capital returns have STOPPED — $89M of buybacks + dividends in FY2020, but ~$0 in FY2025. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash.

suspended

FY2020→FY2025

Dividend — suspended. The dividend has been SUSPENDED — $17M paid in FY2020, then $0 in FY2025. A suspension is a major signal the board is conserving cash; the prior payment history doesn't offset it.

9.7%

FY2025

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 9.7% in the latest fiscal year and rising from 7% — around its ~9% cost of capital, so growth is roughly value-neutral.

$472M

FY2020–FY2022

Goodwill impairments. Took $472M of goodwill writedowns across 3 years (FY2020 ($268M), FY2021 ($1M), FY2022 ($203M)) — about 122% of net income over the span. Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$15.15B

Revenue Growth YoY+6.5%

Revenue CAGR (3yr)+2.7%

Net Margin0.8%

Free Cash Flow$417.5M

Return on Equity11.1%

Debt / Equity1.51x

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Aug 11, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.