Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

27 Feb 2026, 00:44 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP – Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The auto parts company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 1.79%.The company had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.91 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Standard Motor Products’ conference call:

Company delivered strong top-line and margin performance, with consolidated Q4 sales up 12.2% and full-year sales up 22.4% (organic growth ~4% excluding Nissens), and adjusted EBITDA expanding to 9.7% of net sales in Q4.
The Nissens acquisition is performing well—contributing $64M in Q4 and $305M for the year—with mid-single-digit local-currency growth and management expecting cross-selling and cost synergies (targeting a $8M–$12M run rate by end-2026, and saying they’re ahead of plan).
Management disclosed a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting at Nissens related to IT controls; remediation (technical fixes and compensating controls) is underway, and auditors found no financial misstatements.
Operating cash flow fell to $57.4M (down $19.3M) due to inventory build and tariff-driven cost increases, leaving net debt at $546.7M with leverage of 2.7x (management targets 2.0x by end-2026); 2026 guidance is modest (low- to mid-single-digit sales growth and adjusted EBITDA margin of 11%–12%), highlighting continued near-term execution and tariff risks.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 8.6%

NYSE SMP traded down $3.71 on Thursday, reaching $39.39. The company had a trading volume of 302,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,249. Standard Motor Products has a 52 week low of $21.38 and a 52 week high of $46.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.48 and its 200-day moving average is $39.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $866.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 0.76.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is presently 94.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SMP. Zacks Research lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on SMP

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,543,548.09. This represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 368.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 221,147 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 173,912 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 296,792 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,937,000 after buying an additional 134,936 shares during the period. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,102,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth $2,936,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 482.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 69,063 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after buying an additional 57,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Standard Motor Products

Here are the key news stories impacting Standard Motor Products this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and margin improvement — SMP reported $0.56 EPS vs. consensus $0.45 and highlighted adjusted EBITDA margin expansion in Q4 and for the full year, showing profit leverage after the Nissens deal. This beat supports the company’s earnings quality. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Guidance and Nissens integration progress — Management issued 2026 guidance for low- to mid-single-digit sales growth and an 11%–12% adjusted EBITDA margin, and noted active progress integrating Nissens, which supports longer-term revenue and margin upside if execution continues. Read More.
Neutral Sentiment: Revenue roughly in line with estimates — Q4 sales were $385.09M vs. the ~$385.9M consensus (a de minimis miss), indicating top-line growth was modest after adjusting for the recent acquisition. That keeps focus on margin recovery and integration rather than a major sales surprise. Read More.
Neutral Sentiment: Management detail and materials available — Full earnings call transcripts, slide deck and presentation were released for investors to review execution details and forward cadence. Use these to judge cadence of margin and integration commentary. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest — Short interest rose ~19% in February to ~858k shares (about 4.1% of the float) with a ~7-day short interest ratio, adding potential downward pressure and volatility if sellers remain active.
Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and technicals — Despite the EPS beat, the stock is trading lower on heavier-than-normal volume, likely reflecting investor caution on modest guidance and integration execution risk; the price is near its 200-day average and below the 50-day average, which can amplify short-term selling.

About Standard Motor Products

(Get Free Report)

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.