Start here if you're new
what it is
Standard Motor sells replacement car parts, so it makes money when older vehicles need fixing.
how it gets paid
Last year Standard Motor made $1.8B in revenue. Vehicle Control was the main engine at $0.94B, or 52% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 22.4% last year. That quarter looks wild because reported revenue rose 182% vs. prior year.
what just happened
Revenue hit $1.4B, while adjusted EPS of $0.56 beat the $0.49 estimate by 14.29%.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
75/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
11.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
9.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 59/100 — below average
What they do
Standard Motor sells replacement car parts, so it makes money when older vehicles need fixing.
SMP sits where boring wins. Its two biggest product buckets, Vehicle Control and Temperature Control, made 78% of 2024 sales, which gives repair shops and parts chains one supplier across a lot of failure points. Distribution scale → getting thousands of parts where mechanics need them → so your repair gets done fast, and that keeps big customers like O’Reilly, which was 28% of 2024 sales, coming back.
How they make money
$1.8B
annual revenue · their business grew +22.4% last year
Vehicle Control
$0.94B
Temperature Control
$0.47B
Engineered Solutions
$0.36B
Nissens
$0.04B
The products that matter
manufactures and distributes replacement parts
Vehicle Parts
$1.8B revenue
it's the entire $1.8B business. Last year's growth was 22.4%, but the current growth rate has cooled to 4.2%, so volume and integration now matter more than headline expansion.
100% of revenue
Key numbers
11.1x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → how much you pay for each dollar of profit. At 11.1x, SMP is priced like a no-growth business even with sales up 22.4%.
10.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → what the core machine keeps before interest and taxes. For a parts supplier, double-digit margin shows discipline.
$539M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed beyond one year → fixed claims ahead of you as a shareholder. It matters because debt equals 36% of capital.
3.2%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to shareholders each year relative to the stock price → what you get paid while you wait. SMP pays you more than many industrial names.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 60 / 100
- long-term debt $539M (36% of capital)
- net profit margin 5.6% — keeps 6 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 12% — $0.12 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SMP 3 years ago → it's now worth $12,270.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $1.4B, while adjusted EPS of $0.56 beat the $0.49 estimate by 14.29%.
That quarter looks wild because reported revenue rose 182% vs. prior year, while annual revenue was $1.8B, up 22.4%. Gross margin came in at 31.1%, showing the business still kept decent product economics.
$1.4B
revenue
$0.56
eps
31.1%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 31.1% gross margin mattered most because margin tells you whether growth is buying profit or just buying more work.
-
indeed, we have earnings at the supplier of aftermarket autoparts inching up two pennies (or 4.3%), vs. prior year, in the fourth quarter, less than the projected, acquisition-aided 12% top-line advance for the period. (note: the company was scheduled to release its december-period results shortly after we went to press.) standard has been facing tariff-related cost pressure of late.that’s because a high percentage of the parts that it sells in the u.s. market are sourced from china and elsewhere overseas. on the plus side, price hikes have provided some relief, while pushback from customers has reportedly been fairly modest, given the company’s strong brand recognition and the fact that its products are less discretionary in nature.
-
we look for adjusted earnings to rise nearly 9%, to $4.30 a share, this year.underpinning our generally positive stance is, in part, an expected easing of several modest headwinds. importantly, the further integration of nissens (acquired november, 2024 for $390 million) ought to yield tangible benefits. so, too, should the recent opening of a state-of-theart, 575,000-square-foot distribution center in shawnee, kansas.
-
the long-term picture here still seems decent.
-
to wit, the number of cars on america’s roads between six and 15 years old (the company’s ‘‘sweet spot’’) was recently expected to reach nearly 166 million by 2027, up 17% from roughly 142 million in 2022.the growing cohort of off-warranty vehicles augurs well for aftermarket demand, especially through independent repair shops that standard’s core customers like o’reilly automotive and autozone serve. shares of standard motor are now ranked 3 (average) for relative, yearahead price performance, having slipped a notch on the timeliness scale since our last report in early december. at this juncture, we think that they are better suited for buyand-hold investors seeking a play on america’s aging vehicle fleet.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is tariff-driven parts sourcing pressure.
med
overseas sourcing gets more expensive
A high percentage of the parts SMP sells in the U.S. are sourced from China and other overseas markets. That makes tariff policy and freight costs more than background noise.
With only a 5.4% net profit margin, even a modest cost spike can hit earnings quickly if pricing does not keep up.
med
the $390M Nissens deal does not earn its keep
Acquisitions can boost revenue before they improve economics. If Nissens adds complexity faster than it adds profit, last year's 22.4% growth will not translate into lasting EPS leverage.
You would see it in stagnant margins, slower-than-expected EPS progress versus the $4.30 estimate, or both.
med
the new 575,000-square-foot distribution center underdelivers
A facility this large should improve service levels and efficiency. If it becomes just a bigger cost center, the operating story gets a lot less interesting.
The business already runs at a 2.3% quarterly margin in weaker periods. There is not much room for a long ramp.
The combined risk picture is simple: a $1.8B business with 5.4% net margins and $539M of long-term debt does not need a disaster to disappoint you. It just needs costs to rise faster than pricing and integration benefits to arrive late.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
gross margin versus tariff pressure
If input costs keep climbing while pricing power fades, the 5.4% net margin will feel very small very quickly.
metric
growth staying above 4.2%
Last year's 22.4% revenue jump already slowed to 4.2%. You want proof that the deceleration stops here.
calendar
next earnings versus the $4.30 EPS setup
Consensus wants nearly 9% adjusted earnings growth this year. Every quarter now doubles as an integration progress report.
trend
aging vehicle fleet tailwind
The six-to-15-year vehicle cohort is projected to rise from roughly 142M in 2022 to nearly 166M by 2027. That is the demand backdrop you are underwriting.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts do not see a clear short-term edge here.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 means typical risk for a small-cap industrial name — not especially fragile, not especially defensive.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 says the stock is behaving normally. No breakout, no collapse, just a market waiting for evidence.
earnings predictability
75 / 100
A 75/100 predictability score means results are usually within shouting distance of expectations. That's useful when the thesis depends on steady execution.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 62 buyers vs. 60 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 17.8M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$34
$70
$44
current price
$52
target midpoint · +19% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+85% · 18% ann'l return)
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