WinstonWınston
Back

Deep Value: cash covers more than 100% of the stock price

This company holds roughly $3.1B in cash and investments — more than its entire stock-market value, based on its latest quarterly filing. You're paying very little for the actual business. Sometimes that's a genuine bargain or a takeover target, sometimes it's cheap for a reason. Not a buy signal on its own — always ask why it's this cheap.

Advance Auto Parts logo

Advance Auto Parts

AAP
29
Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical
Also trades as: 0H9G.L
Winston Score
29
Winston is worried
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Apr 25, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Good
Stability
Mixed
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Weak

Winston Score History

The full picture

Advance Auto Parts sells car parts, tools, and accessories to everyday drivers and professional mechanics. Its stores carry things like batteries, brakes, oil filters, and engine parts — the kind of items people need when a car breaks down or needs routine maintenance. The company operates thousands of retail locations across the United States, making it one of the largest auto parts retailers in the country.

The company earns money through in-store and online sales, serving both do-it-yourself customers and commercial accounts like repair shops. It competes directly with AutoZone and O'Reilly Automotive, two rivals that have historically been more profitable and operationally efficient. Advance Auto Parts has been working through a turnaround effort after years of underperformance, closing underperforming stores and cutting costs — but with an operating margin of just 3.2% and a low return on invested capital, execution risk remains the central challenge facing the business.

Politician Trades

2 trades / 12mo

0 Congressional buys and 2 sells on AAP in the last 12 months.

Unlock the full Smart Money Map — every trade plotted on the price chart with politicians, amounts and returns since each trade. Founder's Deal is $57/mo locked for life.

Unlock politician trades

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue data limited

EPS Growth

YoY Growth Rate

EPS data limited

Insider Activity

0.5%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

5+ years

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

$3.1B cash & investments at current burn rate

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
45.1%
Healthy — 45.1% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
3.8%
Thin — 3.8% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
4.9%
Weak — 4.9% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
-3.1%
Shrinking sales (-3.1% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
3/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
207%
Turns 207% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-2.0%
Burning cash (-2.0%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.54
Elevated debt (1.54)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
1.54x
Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.5x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
30.6x
no trend
Pricey — P/E 30.6

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+18.9
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (30.6 → 11.7)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
1.76%
no trend
Small dividend — 1.76% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+0.0%
no trend
Dividend flat

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free
🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.
Start free trial