LKQ vs GDS Comparison

Since forming in 1998 to consolidate the auto salvage business in the United States, LKQ has developed into a leading distributor of aftermarket and recycled auto parts with around 1,500 facilities across North America and Europe. The company primarily sells into the professional channel and offers an assortment of collision and mechanical parts to both body shops and mechanical repair shops. It also continues to operate more than 70 LKQ pick-your-part junkyards. Separate from the self-service business, LKQ usually purchases around 250,000 salvage vehicles annually that are used to extract vehicle parts for resale.

GDS Holdings started as an IT service provider in 2001 then moved to the data center business with its first self-developed data center opening in 2010. The company now develops and operates data centers in China and also builds, operates and transfers data centers for other clients. It offers colocation and managed services and mainly targets hyperscale cloud service customers who take large areas of its data centers or even whole data centers under long-term contracts. Its data centers are located predominantly in and around the Tier 1 cities in China and it has also started an expanding into Southeast Asia via the now 38% owned DayOne. GDS listed on the Nasdaq in 2016 and completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2020.