Genuine Parts Company announced its Q3 financial results, with Canadian results outperforming, largely as a result of the Benson Automotive acquisition.

“Our third quarter performance demonstrates the strength of our market leading businesses and our teams’ continued focus on serving customers and executing our strategic priorities,” said Will Stengel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“We also achieved important milestones in our separation process and remain on track to launch GPC and Motion as two independent, leading companies in the first quarter of 2027.”

Third Quarter 2026 Results

Sales were $6.5 billion; a 4.2% increase compared to $6.3 billion in the same period of the prior year.

All figures in USD.

The improvement is attributable to a 2.9% increase in comparable sales, a 0.9% benefit from acquisitions and a net 0.4% favorable impact of foreign currency and other.

Net income was $224 million, or $1.62 per diluted earnings per share. This compares to net income of $226 million, or $1.62 per diluted share in the prior year period.

Adjusted net income was $286 million, or $2.07 per diluted earnings per share. Adjusted net income excludes $61 million of after-tax adjustments, or $0.45 per diluted share, which relates to costs associated with the company’s global restructuring initiative and the planned separation of the company’s Automotive and Industrial businesses.

This compares to adjusted net income of $276 million, or $1.98 per diluted share in the prior year period. Refer to the reconciliation of GAAP net income to adjusted net income and GAAP diluted net income per common share to adjusted diluted net income per common share for more information.

Third Quarter 2026 Segment Highlights

North America Automotive Parts Group (“North America Automotive”)

North America Automotive sales were $2.5 billion, up 2.2% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is primarily attributable to a 1.7% increase in comparable sales and a 1.1% benefit from acquisitions.  This was partially offset by a 0.6% unfavorable impact of foreign currency and other. Segment EBITDA of $194 million decreased 2.9%, with segment EBITDA margin of 7.6%, down 40 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

International Automotive Parts Group (“International Automotive”)

International Automotive sales were $1.6 billion, up 4.5% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is primarily attributable to a 1.7% benefit from acquisitions, a 1.7% favorable impact of foreign currency and a 1.1% increase in comparable sales. Segment EBITDA of $141 million increased 4.7%, with segment EBITDA margin of 9.0%, flat versus the same period of the prior year.

Industrial Parts Group (“Industrial”)

Industrial sales were $2.4 billion, up 6.1% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is primarily attributable to a 5.5% increase in comparable sales, a 0.5% favorable impact of foreign currency and a 0.1% benefit from acquisitions. Segment EBITDA of $317 million increased 11.2%, with segment EBITDA margin of 13.2%, up 60 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

Year to Date 2026 Results

Sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, were $19.3 billion, up 5.6% from the same period in 2025. Net income for the nine months was $641 million, or $4.64 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $675 million, or $4.85 per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted net income was $827 million in the first nine months of 2026, compared to adjusted net income of $810 million in the prior year period. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $5.99 compared to $5.82 in the prior year period.

During the investment community conference call, Stengel noted that key impacts to the bottom line were the result of the war with Iran which had pushed up fuel costs considerably — %50 for diesel, 30% of gasoline – that is largely behind a 40-basis point drop in EBITDA for North American Automotive, despite a comp sales increase of 1.7%.

“Just to frame the North American EBITDA margin pressure, that’s a $6 million absolute decrease in EBITDA year-over-year, driving the 40-basis point decline . . . it’s related to the inflation we’re feeling from the Iran conflict. We had increases in freight, fuel, and rent that totaled $15 million year-over-year. That’s on the back of fuel.”

Stengel also discussed store performance in some detail.

“Despite the softer environment, sales performance at our company-owned stores was solid. In the third quarter, comparable sales at our company-owned stores increased approximately 3.5%, with commercial up approximately 5%.

“We are also pleased with our independent owner initiatives, with our top quartile owners growing at comparable levels to our company-owned stores.

“We held sessions with hundreds of owners during the quarter, and the tone is positive with good alignment on our go-forward priorities. Looking at the comparable sales performance of NAPA to the end customer, which includes our company-owned sales as well as the sales out to the end customer from our independent stores, the NAPA system delivered sales growth of approximately 3% in the third quarter.

“By customer type, comparable sales to our commercial customers for the quarter were up approximately 4%, while comparable sales to our retail customers decreased approximately 3%. Within commercial, we saw solid growth in all four customer segments, with particular strength in other wholesale and fleet and government customers.

“In Canada, our team continues to execute well despite ongoing softer market conditions. We saw solid sales growth again in the third quarter, with total sales increasing approximately 9% in local currency versus the same period last year and comparable sales up 1%. The Benson acquisition continues to support our performance with financial and operational results tracking ahead of plan.”

Court Carruthers weighs in

The Q3 call also provided an early opportunity to hear from Court Carruthers, who will take over as CEO of GPC following the GPC/Motion split in early 2027.

Only six weeks into the role of CEO-Elect, but after considerable field visits, he had this to say:

“First, everything begins with the customer, the mechanic in the garage turning a wrench. This is the core of who GPC serves and how the business was built. We win by delivering the parts, products, and service that mechanics need to keep their customers and the world moving. We do this by having the right inventory, delivering reliably, solving problems quickly, and being easy to do business with. The more we help our customers succeed, the more GPC wins in the market.

“Second, our people are one of our greatest competitive advantages. Their deep experience, strong local relationships, and commitment to customers are capabilities that cannot be easily replicated, and they make the difference in how we execute every day. Our responsibility is to give our teams the network, tools, and leadership they need to perform at their best while fostering a culture focused on providing exceptional service to customers.

“Third, we have an opportunity to move with greater focus and speed post-separation. We will have a short list of priorities, disciplined execution, and local teams empowered to make decisions closer to the customer. We will act on the best available information, learn quickly, and adjust when needed to keep getting better every day. The strength of our model was on full display at our recent independent owners meeting in Atlanta.

“Spending time with our independent owners reinforced the commercial value they bring to the customers and communities they serve. They know their markets, they know their customers, they build trusted local relationships, and they bring an entrepreneurial mindset to the business every day. Just as important, they tell us what is working and what is not.

“Our responsibility is to listen to that feedback and ensure we are supporting both our independent owners and our company stores with the products, technology, and supply chain they need to win. Their local market knowledge, combined with GPC’s global scale and capabilities, is a real competitive advantage.”

2026 Outlook

The company is narrowing the range for adjusted diluted earnings per share outlook from its previous full-year 2026 outlook provided in its earnings releases on February 17, 2026, April 21, 2026 and July 21, 2026. The company considered its recent business trends and financial results, current growth plans, strategic initiatives, global economic outlook, geopolitical conflicts and the potential impact on results in updating its outlook, which is outlined in the table below. The updated GAAP earnings-per-share outlook includes expected costs associated with the company’s restructuring initiatives, and includes costs related to the planned separation that have been incurred year-to-date. 

		For the Year Ending December 31, 2026
		Previous Outlook		Updated Outlook
Total sales growth		3% to 5.5%		3% to 5.5%
North America Automotive sales growth		2.5% to 4.5%		2.5% to 4.5%
International Automotive sales growth		5% to 8%		5% to 8%
Industrial sales growth		3% to 6%		3% to 6%
Diluted earnings per share		$5.90 to $6.40		$5.60 to $5.85
Adjusted diluted earnings per share		$7.50 to $8.00		$7.50 to $7.75
Effective tax rate		Approx. 24%		Approx. 24%
Net cash provided by operating activities		$1.0 billion to $1.2 billion		$1.0 billion to $1.2 billion
Free cash flow		$550 million to $700 million		$550 million to $700 million

Conference Call

Genuine Parts Company held a conference call October 20, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results of the quarter. A supplemental earnings deck is available for reference. Interested parties may listen to the call and view the supplemental earnings deck on the company’s investor relations website. A replay of the call will be available on the company’s website or toll-free at 888-660-6345, conference ID 26206#, two hours after the completion of the call.