Genuine Parts (GPC): adjusted profit per share up 5% to $2.07, top of 2026 forecast lowered and the split stays on track for early 2027

Genuine Parts, the US distributor behind the NAPA car-parts stores and the Motion industrial-supplies business, reported third-quarter adjusted profit of $2.07 per share, up from $1.98 a year ago and slightly above what analysts expected. It narrowed its 2026 adjusted profit forecast by lowering the top of the range, and said it still plans to split into two companies in the first quarter of 2027.

What happened

On 20 October 2026 Genuine Parts Company published results for the three months to 30 September. Sales were $6,521m, up 4.2% from $6,260m a year earlier. Reported (GAAP, the standard accounting measure) profit was $224m, or $1.62 per diluted share, almost exactly the same as the $226m, or $1.62, of the year before. After removing restructuring and separation costs, adjusted profit was $286m, or $2.07 per share, against $276m, or $1.98. The company also narrowed its forecast for 2026 adjusted profit per share to $7.50 to $7.75, from $7.50 to $8.00 before.

The company is preparing to separate its automotive business, which includes NAPA, from its industrial business, Motion, so that each becomes an independent public company. The release says it remains on track for the first quarter of 2027. Leadership teams have been named, and, according to the earnings call transcript published by Investing.com and a trade report from Distribution Strategy Group, investor presentations are scheduled in New York on 8 December (GPC, the automotive company) and 9 December 2026 (Motion).

The numbers, explained

Start with sales. Total sales grew 4.2% ($261m divided by $6,260m). Comparable sales, which measure growth in existing stores and operations and leave out the effect of acquisitions, rose 2.9%, and acquisitions added about 0.9 percentage points. Gross profit, the money left after paying for the goods sold, rose 6.1% to $2,484m. That is 38.1% of sales against 37.4% a year ago (our working: $2,484m divided by $6,521m, and $2,341m divided by $6,260m), so the company kept about $0.38 of every $1 of sales after direct costs, up from about $0.37. Selling, general and administrative costs, the running costs of the business, rose faster than sales, to 29.8% of sales from 28.8%, which is why reported profit was flat.

The gap between reported and adjusted profit is $0.45 per share. It is made up of restructuring costs of $64.5m, separation costs of $21.2m and acquisition costs of $0.8m, which total about $86.6m before tax and about $61.5m after tax (adjusted profit of $285.9m minus reported profit of $224.4m). Adjusted profit per share rose $0.09, or 4.5% ($0.09 divided by $1.98); adjusted profit itself rose 3.8%. Analysts, according to Investing.com, expected $2.04 per share and sales of $6.49bn, so the result was about 1.5% above on profit and 0.5% above on sales. Those expectations are estimates, not company figures.

The three divisions moved differently. Industrial (Motion) sales rose 6.1% to $2,409m, and its segment EBITDA, a measure of operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rose 11.2% to $317m, a margin of 13.2%, up 0.6 percentage points. North America Automotive sales rose 2.2% to $2,540m, but its EBITDA fell 2.9% to $194m, a margin of 7.6%, down 0.4 points. Nine-month operating cash flow was $817m against $511m, and for the nine months free cash flow, the cash left after spending on equipment and buildings, was $502m against $160m (our working: $817m minus $314m).

Why it matters

Genuine Parts makes its money by buying parts and supplies from manufacturers and selling them on to repair shops, car owners, factories and maintenance teams. This quarter shows that split clearly: Motion grew faster and earned a higher margin, while the North American car-parts business grew more slowly and kept less of each sale. The company's own statement says its outlook reflects economic conditions and geopolitical conflicts.

On the call, as reported by Investing.com (a single source for this point), management said higher freight, fuel and rent costs added about $15m to North America Automotive costs, partly linked to the conflict involving Iran, and that the margin would have risen about 0.2 percentage points without them. It also said it expects to finish 2026 towards the lower end of the narrowed profit range, and raised its estimate of the second-half cost from that conflict to $30m to $40m, from $20m to $30m. These are management's statements, not our findings.

What to watch next

The company has not published a date for fourth-quarter results in the sources we read. Dated events that are known: investor presentations for GPC on 8 December and Motion on 9 December 2026, in New York, where management said it would give a 2027 outlook; and the separation, targeted for the first quarter of 2027. The company's forecast leaves room to check later: with $5.99 of adjusted (nine months, against $5.82 a year ago) profit per share earned in the first nine months, the new range of $7.50 to $7.75 implies adjusted profit per share of roughly $1.51 to $1.76 in the fourth quarter (our working, not a company figure).

• Comparable sales: sales growth from existing operations, excluding acquisitions and currency
• Adjusted profit: profit with one-off items such as restructuring and separation costs removed
• EBITDA: operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
• Free cash flow: cash left after spending on equipment and buildings

Sources

• Genuine Parts Q3 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K (SEC), 20 October 2026
• Genuine Parts Company Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results (PR Newswire)
• Earnings call transcript: Genuine Parts beats Q3 2026 estimates (Investing.com)
• Motion Sales Rise 6.1% As GPC Prepares to Split Industrial and Automotive Businesses (Distribution Strategy Group)