LAD vs WCC Comparison

Lithia Motors is a retailer of new and used vehicles and related services. The company offers over 50 brands of vehicles at nearly 500 stores globally across the US, Canada, and UK. The company has expanded largely through the acquisition of dealerships in smaller regional markets but now seeks to grow in any part of the US and we expect more deals over time in the US and, at times, abroad. Annual revenue in 2024 was $36.2 billion and we see over $50 billion possible in a few years. The US was 78% of 2024 revenue and the UK second at 19%, due to the 2024 Pendragon acquisition. In 2024, new vehicle sales were about 49% of total revenue. Lithia was founded in 1946, went public in 1996, and is the largest US auto dealer. It is based in Medford, Oregon.

Wesco can be traced back to the late 1800s but was officially founded in 1922, acting as the distribution arm of Westinghouse Electric. Throughout the 1900s, Wesco entered and subsequently exited the consumer electronics, transit, bottling, and nuclear plant distribution markets. It was sold to a private equity firm in 1994 and then went public in 1999, and numerous acquisitions have since been made to fill the gaps in Wesco's geographical and product coverage. Today, the firm primarily distributes electrical, networking, security, and utility equipment used in the construction and repair of structures such as offices, data centers, power transmission lines, and manufacturing plants. Wesco has operations around the globe but generates the majority of its revenue in the United States.