GENUINE PARTS CO vs WATSCO INC, two Distribution stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Genuine Parts and Watsco are both dividend-paying distributors, Genuine Parts in auto and industrial parts, Watsco in HVAC, and both reward income investors. Watsco earns a lower return on equity, 15.43% against Genuine Parts's 20.79%, but on a much cleaner balance sheet, 0.11 turns of debt against 1.03, and a higher margin, 6.85% against 3.78%. Genuine Parts yields more, 3.55% against 2.85%, and trades cheaper, 17.2 times earnings against 33.7. The pair matches two income-friendly distributors: Genuine Parts the higher-yielding, higher-return but more-levered auto-parts staple, Watsco the debt-light, higher-margin HVAC specialist trading at a growth premium, pitting yield-and-value against quality-and-consistency.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | GPC | WSO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $116.01 | $410.75 |
| Market cap | $16.0B | $15.6B |
| Sector | Distribution | Distribution |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -1.0% | +19.8% |
| P/E | 17.2 | 33.7 |
| P/B | 3.56 | 4.85 |
| P/S | 0.65 | 2.15 |
| EV/EBITDA | 37.3 | 21.4 |
| Revenue growth | +4.8% | -4.4% |
| Gross margin | 37.3% | 27.9% |
| Operating margin | — | 7.2% |
| Net margin | 3.8% | 6.8% |
| Return on equity | 20.8% | 15.4% |
| Return on assets | 4.5% | 10.7% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 16.0% |
| FCF yield | 3.4% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 3.5% | 2.9% |
| Debt / equity | 1.03 | 0.11 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 3.34 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.54 | 8.60 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.