U.S. Hardlines Retail "Highlights from an Expert Call on the Auto Afterm..."

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U.S. Hardlines Retail "Highlights from an Expert Call on the Auto Afterm..."

Global Research

15 May 2026ab

U.S. Hardlines Retail Equities

AmericasHighlights from an Expert Call on the Auto

Aftermarket Retailers, Broadline

Michael Lasser

Analyst

michael.lasser@ubs.com

Our take: The demand environment has been lumpy for the aftermarket. +1-212-713 2440

We recently hosted a call with an executive from one of the top-10 largest players in the Mark Carden

auto aftermarket that is privately held. This warehouse-distributor is mostly located in Analyst

the Midwest, Northeast, and mid-Atlantic regions. The expert noted his organization mark.carden@ubs.com

has experienced volatile trends with ups and downs from week to week. Still, its overall +1-212-713 3218

sales have been running up in the the ~3% range. All of the growth has been driven by Dan Silverstein

price/inflation rather than units. The expert believes that the industry could see the same Analyst

level of price inflation in the back half of the year as has been the run-rate recently. This daniel.silverstein@ubs.com

will come from the risings in energy prices and related raw materials. On another note, +1-212-713 2459

the executive articulated that he believes competitive intensity is rising in dense metro Sachin Verma

markets, and SG&A pressures (labor, healthcare) have persisted. Associate Analyst

sachin.verma@ubs.com

The key points of discussion from the call included: +1-212-713 3492

Sales cadence and performance has been spotty. The expert noted noted that Joshua Bluestine

his organization has experienced year-to-date sales growth of around 3% range. Analyst

Yet, trends have varied and been inconsistent. Still, the expert noted that his joshua.bluestine@ubs.com