Car and Auto Stock: Prices and Tips

Cruise your way through Wall Street with these car stocks. Then practice what you’ve learned with our free stock market simulation.

BEST CAR STOCKS

Car stocks that drove their way to the top:

Symbol Company
THO THOR INDUSTRIES INC
TM TOYOTA MOTOR SHS SPONSORED AMERICAN DEPOSITARY REC…
WGO WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES INC
HMC HONDA MOTOR SHS SPONSORED AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECE…
F FORD MOTOR CO
FCAU FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES N.V.
GM GENERAL MOTORS CO
TSLA TESLA INC
VLKAY VOLKSWAGEN SHS SPONSORED AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEI…

ABOUT THE CAR AND AUTO STOCK MARKET

While historically, the auto market in the U.S. has been the second largest in the world, it’s actually been a pretty rough road for the auto industry these past few years.

  • High fuel prices of the world petroleum crisis have left Americans little choice but to purchase smaller cars over larger vehicles.
  • In 2009, both General Motors and Chrysler went belly-up. This put the American auto industry back a small $110 billion in bailout funds.
  • Two years later, just as the auto market started to regain traction, the European debt crisis happened. GM’s recalls (due to defective car parts resulting in deaths) had certainly salted the auto stock game.
  • A serious slowdown in China’s auto sales didn’t help increase global demand either. Economic conditions are picking up, though. Oil prices have collapsed, re-fueling demand for trucks, SUVs etc.

OTHER AUTO STOCKS

Here are some solid auto parts/service stocks you may want to invest in:

Auto Parts Stocks

Symbol Company
GPC GENUINE PARTS CO
AAP ADVANCE AUTO PARTS INC
AZO AUTOZONE INC
SNA SNAP-ON INC
ORLY O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC
PLOW DOUGLAS DYNAMICS INC
AXL AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING HOLDINGS INC
ALV AUTOLIV INC

Auto Service Stocks

Symbol Company
HTZ HERTZ GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC
KMX CARMAX INC
SPAR SPARTAN MOTORS INC
CAR AVIS BUDGET GROUP INC

FACTORS AFFECTING AUTO MARKET

Investing in auto stocks isn’t easy. The industry has proved that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but there are a bunch of factors that come into effect. Here are a bunch of things to pay attention to when investing in the auto market:

Cyclical Sensitivity

The auto industry is extremely sensitive to the business cycle. This means that during periods of prosperity, lots of cars are being bought. It also means that during economic downturn, the wheels stop turning. Also – Auto-parts companies make most of their money earlier in the year, while automakers are assembling cars for September launches. Many companies will pay a dividend to get investors through the slow times.

Borrowing Rates

Lots of car buyers choose to finance. If the borrowing rates become too high, buyers may spend more money maintaining their existing vehicles rather than buying a new one.

Labor Relations

A lot of the auto industry is unionized. Workers’ demands for higher pay means either cutting back on production costs or upping car prices, both of which can impact sales.

Green Cars

Environmentally friendly cars are growing in popularity. Companies are making a real effort to push battery-operated cars and hybrids, but these efforts don’t come cheap. The research and development of these vehicles is likely to cost billions of dollars. It’s worth considering how the company will be able to finance such initiatives and how it would affect future profits.

New Model Line Up

An exciting product line boosts a company’s sales; lacking one hurts its stocks. Aesthetically pleasing new vehicles will surely appeal to consumers and make it a stock worth investing in.

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Our Best-of-the-Best Awards for 2023

Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on 2023 Picks, Dec. 31, 2023

We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock and option newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share our results of the top performing stock newsletters for under $500 below. The main metric to look for is EXCESS RETURN--that means they are beating the market!

RankStock NewsletterStock
Picks
Average
Return
S&P500
Return
Excess
Return
Percent
Profitable
Max %
Return
Min %
Return
1.
Stock Advisor
2419.9%13.1%6.7%83%107%-28%
Summary: 2 picks/month offering long-term potential; Lifetime average return of 627% vs S&P500's 147% since 2002; Retail Price: $199/yr.
Read our Stock Advisor Review.
Current Promotion: Save 60% with Code SALE60
2.
Everlasting Stocks
2418.8%12.7%6.0%79%73%-41%
Summary: Only sold as part of Epic Bundle (includes Everlasting Stocks, Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers); 2 picks/month; Tom Gardner's service with the same team that has beaten the market by 3x; Retail Price: $299/yr.
Read our Epic Bundle Review.
Epic Bundle ($1000+ Value): Now Just $319
3.
Alpha Picks
2417.7%12.6%5.0%83%64%-20%
Summary: 2 picks/month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; Launched in July, 2022; 2022 picks are beating the market by 47.6%; Lifetime average return of 37% vs S&P500's 15% since 2022; Retail Price: $499/yr.
Read our Alpha Picks Review.
Current Promotion:
Save $50
4.
Value Investor
1217.9%13.0%4.9%75%127%-35%
Summary: 10-25 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price: $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review.Current Promotion:$1, then $495/yr
5.
Rule Breakers
2415.4%11.7%3.6%71%123%-39%
Summary: 2 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 266% vs S&P500's 118% since 2005; Retail Price: $299/yr. Read our Rule Breakers Review.Current Promotion: Try it for $99/yr
6.Real Estate Investors1214.6%11.9%2.7%83%44%-11%
7.Cramer's Action Alerts Plus10110.6%11.1%-0.5%48%96%-51%
8.Zacks Top 101023.2%26.2%-3%60%120%-24%
9.Top Under $1059-2.4%2.8%-5.2%36%130%-44%
10.Home Run Investor46-1.8%3.6%-5.4%50%49%-29%
11.Dogs of the Dow1014.5%26.2%-11.7%70%95%-25%
12.IBD Top 50 Leaderboard5013.5%26.2%-12.7%n/an/an/a
Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their 2023 stock picks' performance as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of SP from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF.