Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC), a leading global service provider of automotive and industrial replacement parts and value-added solutions, announced today its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

"The GPC team delivered first quarter results ahead of expectations, driven by solid sales growth and operating discipline across our business segments," said Will Stengel, Chair-Elect and Chief Executive Officer. "Our performance reflects the strength and resilience of our businesses despite a dynamic global environment. We are simultaneously making strong progress on our announced separation which remains on track for completion in the first quarter of 2027."

First Quarter 2026 Results

Sales were $6.3 billion, a 6.8% increase compared to $5.9 billion in the same period of the prior year. The improvement is attributable to a 2.4% increase in comparable sales, a 1.3% benefit from acquisitions and a net 3.1% favorable impact of foreign currency and other.

Net income was $189 million, or $1.37 per diluted earnings per share. This compares to net income of $194 million, or $1.40 per diluted share in the prior year period.

Adjusted net income was $245 million, or $1.77 per diluted earnings per share. Adjusted net income excludes a net expense of $56 million after tax adjustments, or $0.40 per diluted share, which relates to costs associated with the company's global restructuring initiative and the planned separation of the company's Global Automotive and Global Industrial businesses. This compares to adjusted net income of $243 million, or $1.75 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.

First Quarter 2026 Segment Highlights

North America Automotive Parts Group ("North America Automotive")

North America Automotive sales were $2.4 billion, up 4.3% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is attributable to a 2.2% increase in comparable sales, a 1.6% benefit from acquisitions and a net 0.5% favorable impact of foreign currency and other. Segment EBITDA of $156 million increased 6.3%, with segment EBITDA margin of 6.6%, up 10 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

International Automotive Parts Group ("International Automotive")

International Automotive sales were $1.6 billion, up 13.2% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is attributable to a 0.3% increase in comparable sales, a 2.3% benefit from acquisitions and a 10.6% favorable impact of foreign currency. Segment EBITDA of $145 million increased 4.6%, with segment EBITDA margin of 9.1%, down 80 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

Industrial Parts Group ("Industrial")

Industrial sales were $2.3 billion, up 5.2% from the same period in 2025. The improvement is attributable to a 3.9% increase in comparable sales, a 0.3% benefit from acquisitions and a 1.0% favorable impact of foreign currency. Segment EBITDA of $314 million increased 12.7%, with segment EBITDA margin of 13.6%, up 90 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

The company generated cash flow from operations of $64 million for the first three months of 2026. Net cash used in investing activities was $93 million, including $98 million for capital expenditures and $14 million for acquisitions. Net cash provided by financing activities was $57 million, including net proceeds of debt (including net commercial paper) of $218 million, partially offset by $142 million for quarterly dividends paid to shareholders. Free cash flow was a deficit of $34 million for the first three months of 2026 due to continued investments in the business outweighing cash from operations which is seasonally lower in the first quarter. Refer to the reconciliation of GAAP net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow for more information.

As of March 31, 2026, total liquidity was $1.3 billion, consisting of $500 million in cash and $838 million of available capacity under the company's $2.0 billion Revolving Credit Agreement. This reflects $554 million drawn on the revolver and $607 million of outstanding commercial paper.

2026 Outlook

The company is reaffirming full-year 2026 guidance previously provided in its earnings release on February 17, 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 guidance, which is outlined in the table below.

Non-GAAP Information

This release contains certain financial information not derived in accordance with United States ("U.S.") generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These items include adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per common share, adjusted selling, administrative, and other expenses, and free cash flow. The company believes that the presentation of adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per common share, adjusted selling, administrative and other expenses and free cash flow, when considered together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations to those measures, provide meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors that is indicative of the company's core operations. The company considers these metrics useful to investors because they provide greater transparency into management's view and assessment of the company's ongoing operating performance by removing items management believes are not representative of the company's continuing operations and may distort the company's longer-term operating trends. The company believes these measures are useful and enhance the comparability of the results from period to period and with the company's competitors, as well as show ongoing results from operations distinct from items that are infrequent or not associated with the company's core operations. The company does not, nor does it suggest investors should, consider such non-GAAP financial measures as superior to, in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP financial information. The company has included a reconciliation of this additional information to the most comparable GAAP measure following the financial statements below. The company does not provide forward-looking guidance for certain financial measures on a GAAP basis because the company is unable to predict certain items contained in the GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. These items may include acquisition-related costs, litigation charges or settlements, impairment charges, restructuring costs and certain other unusual adjustments.

Comparable Sales

Comparable sales is a key metric that refers to period-over-period comparisons of the company's net sales excluding the impact of acquisitions, foreign currency and other. The company's calculation of comparable sales is computed using total business days for the period and is inclusive of sales from company-owned stores and sales into independent stores. The company considers this metric useful to investors because it provides greater transparency into management's view and assessment of the company's core ongoing operations. This is a metric that is widely used by analysts, investors and competitors, however the company's calculation of the metric may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies and analysts calculate this metric in the same manner.

Conference Call

Genuine Parts Company will hold a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results of the quarter. A supplemental earnings deck will also be available for reference. Interested parties may listen to the call and view the supplemental earnings deck on the company's investor relations website. The call is also available by dialing 800-836-8184. A replay of the call will be available on the company's website or toll-free at 888-660-6345, conference ID 82208#, two hours after the completion of the call.