Genuine Parts Company Key Stats
- FoundedMay 7, 1928
- HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia, USA
- NYSE TickerGPC
- Revenue (2024)$23.5 billion
- Employees~60,000
Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is an Atlanta-based distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts, operating a network of more than 10,700 locations across 17 countries. Its best-known subsidiary is NAPA Auto Parts, which sells replacement parts, accessories, and supplies for substantially all makes and models of passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles in North America. The industrial segment, run through Motion Industries, distributes bearings, power transmission equipment, hydraulic and pneumatic components, and related products to manufacturing and maintenance customers.
GPC was founded in 1928 by Carlyle Fraser, who purchased a single Atlanta auto parts store for $40,000. In its first year the business had six employees and recorded $75,000 in sales. Nearly a century later it is one of the few companies to have raised its dividend for more than 68 consecutive years, earning it a place among the Dividend Kings — a group of fewer than 50 US-listed companies with that longevity of annual payout growth.
The company shed its office products and electrical materials businesses in 2019 and 2020 to focus on automotive and industrial distribution. In late 2024, GPC announced plans to separate those two remaining segments into independent publicly traded companies, with the split expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027.
Genuine Parts Company History
Carlyle Fraser purchases Motor Parts Depot, a small Atlanta auto parts retailer, for $40,000 and renames it Genuine Parts Company. The store opens with six employees and generates $75,000 in revenue in its first year, closing the year with a modest loss of roughly $2,500. Fraser’s brother Malcolm also plays a role in the early business.
GPC acquires a controlling interest in the National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA), giving it access to a cooperative network of independent auto parts stores across the United States. This deal transforms GPC from a regional retailer into a national distribution business and lays the foundation for the NAPA Auto Parts brand still in use today.
Genuine Parts Company lists on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GPC, raising capital to support geographic and product-line expansion. The public listing accelerates GPC’s growth through the 1960s, as the company adds distribution centers and broadens its parts coverage across more vehicle makes and models.
GPC acquires S.P. Richards Company, a business products distributor, in 1975, entering the office supplies market for the first time. The following year it acquires Motion Industries, a Birmingham-based industrial parts and supplies distributor. These two deals establish GPC as a multi-segment distribution company, reducing its dependence on the cyclical automotive aftermarket.
GPC acquires UAP Inc., a leading Canadian automotive parts distributor, significantly expanding its presence outside the United States. The UAP deal gives the company a well-established Canadian network of automotive parts warehouses and retail stores, complementing the existing NAPA footprint in the US and setting the stage for further international growth.
GPC acquires the Exego Group, an Australian automotive parts distributor operating under the Repco brand, for approximately A$1.1 billion. The Exego deal extends GPC’s automotive distribution business into Australasia and establishes the company’s Asia Pacific operating platform, which would later expand into New Zealand through further acquisitions.
GPC acquires Alliance Automotive Group (AAG), a European vehicle parts distributor with 2,100 company-owned stores and affiliated outlets across France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland, for approximately $2 billion. The AAG deal is GPC’s largest acquisition to that point and gives the company its first significant European footprint. AAG operates as the second-largest parts distribution platform in Europe by revenue.
GPC divests its Electrical/Electronic Materials business (EIS, Inc.) in 2019 and its office products subsidiary S.P. Richards in 2020, following a failed attempt to spin off S.P. Richards into a combined entity with competitor Essendant. The divestitures narrow GPC’s focus to automotive and industrial distribution, the two segments it had identified as the strongest growth opportunities going forward.
Motion Industries, GPC’s industrial arm, acquires Kaman Distribution Group (KDG) for approximately $1.3 billion. KDG is a US industrial distributor specializing in power transmission, automation, and fluid power components. The acquisition makes Motion Industries one of the three largest industrial distribution companies in North America and adds manufacturing and OEM customers that complement Motion’s existing MRO-focused base.
William P. Stengel II takes over as CEO in June 2024 following Paul Donahue’s transition to executive chairman. In late 2024, GPC announces plans to separate its Automotive and Industrial segments into two independent publicly traded companies, a structural change expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027. The company raises its quarterly dividend for the 68th consecutive year, one of the longest active dividend growth streaks in the US market.
Genuine Parts Founders and Key Leaders
Carlyle Fraser — Founder, 1928
Fraser purchased Motor Parts Depot in 1928 for $40,000 and renamed it Genuine Parts Company. He ran the business through its formative decades, guiding it from a single Atlanta store to a national auto parts distribution network. Fraser served as president and later chairman, overseeing the 1948 acquisition of the NAPA cooperative interest that became the cornerstone of GPC’s automotive business. His brother Malcolm Fraser is also credited as a co-founder in some accounts.
Tom Gallagher — Chairman and CEO, 1990–2016
Gallagher led GPC through more than two decades of growth, overseeing the expansion of its international automotive operations into Canada, Australasia, and Mexico. He navigated the company through the 2008 financial crisis and initiated the diversification of GPC’s geographic footprint before handing the CEO role to Paul Donahue in 2016 while remaining chairman.
Paul Donahue — Chairman and CEO, 2016–2024
Donahue joined GPC in 2003 and became CEO in 2016 as only the fifth chief executive in the company’s then-88-year history. Under his leadership GPC made its largest acquisition in Alliance Automotive Group, entered Europe at scale, acquired Kaman Distribution Group, and divested the office products and electrical materials businesses to focus on automotive and industrial distribution.
William P. Stengel II — CEO, 2024–present
Stengel assumed the CEO role in June 2024 and within months announced the planned separation of GPC’s Automotive and Industrial segments into two independent public companies. The split, expected to complete in early 2027, is intended to allow each business to pursue its own strategy, capital structure, and acquisition opportunities without the constraints of operating within a single conglomerate.
Genuine Parts Company Market Cap
GPC’s market capitalisation held in the $18–22 billion range for most of the decade from 2015 to 2024, reflecting a steady, predictable distribution business without the dramatic multiple expansion of faster-growing sectors. The stock peaked in December 2022 at an all-time closing high, driven by strong post-pandemic demand for automotive replacement parts as consumers kept older vehicles running longer amid elevated new car prices and constrained inventory. The market cap has since pulled back toward the $17–20 billion range as growth rates moderated and investors priced in the uncertainties around the planned business separation.
Genuine Parts Company Revenue
Revenue grew from $15.3 billion in 2015 to a then-record $19.4 billion in 2019, driven by the 2017 Alliance Automotive Group acquisition and steady organic growth in Motion Industries. The 2020 total of $16.5 billion (on a continuing operations basis) reflected both the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on automotive demand and the removal of S.P. Richards and EIS from results following those divestitures. Revenue recovered sharply from 2021 onward, crossing $22 billion in 2022 and reaching $23.5 billion in 2024, supported by the KDG acquisition and continued international automotive growth.
Genuine Parts Acquisitions
GPC’s growth strategy has relied heavily on acquisitions across all of its major business segments. On the automotive side, the 1948 acquisition of a controlling interest in NAPA was the deal that established the company’s national presence. Decades later, the 1998 purchase of UAP Inc. in Canada and the 2013 acquisition of Australia’s Exego Group (operating the Repco brand) extended that footprint internationally. The 2017 purchase of Alliance Automotive Group for $2 billion gave GPC a European business with 2,100 locations in France, the UK, Germany, and Poland — AAG had been owned by private equity funds managed by Blackstone before the transaction.
In industrial distribution, GPC built Motion Industries through a long series of bolt-on acquisitions after the 1976 purchase of the original Motion business. The most significant single step was the January 2022 acquisition of Kaman Distribution Group for $1.3 billion. KDG, previously owned by Kaman Corporation, distributed power transmission, automation, and fluid power products and added manufacturing customers that complemented Motion’s existing maintenance, repair, and operations base. The combined business has annual revenues of more than $8 billion, making it one of the three largest industrial distributors in North America.
GPC also announced 19 separate acquisitions in 2016 alone across its automotive and industrial segments, a pace that reflected management’s approach of layering smaller deals onto existing regional infrastructure rather than relying solely on large transformational transactions. Recent smaller additions in 2024 included MPEC and Walker Automotive Supply, both of which expanded company-owned NAPA store locations in the United States.
Genuine Parts Company Competitors
GPC competes in two distinct markets. In automotive parts distribution, its principal North American rivals are AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, and O’Reilly Automotive. In industrial distribution, Motion Industries competes primarily with W.W. Grainger, Fastenal, and MSC Industrial Direct.
| Company | Country | Primary Competition | Revenue (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoZone | USA | Automotive parts retail/distribution | ~$17.5B (FY2024) |
| O’Reilly Automotive | USA | Automotive parts retail/distribution | ~$16.7B (2024) |
| Advance Auto Parts | USA | Automotive parts retail/distribution | ~$11.3B (2024) |
| LKQ Corporation | USA | Alternative auto parts, Europe | ~$14.1B (2024) |
| W.W. Grainger | USA | Industrial MRO distribution | ~$17.2B (2024) |
| Fastenal | USA | Industrial fasteners and supplies | ~$7.5B (2024) |
| MSC Industrial Direct | USA | Industrial metalworking/MRO | ~$3.8B (FY2024) |
| Applied Industrial Technologies | USA | Industrial bearings, power transmission | ~$4.2B (FY2024) |
| Autodis Group | France | European auto parts distribution | ~€4.5B (2023) |
| Uni-Select | Canada | North American auto parts (acquired by LKQ) | Part of LKQ (2023) |
FAQs
Who founded Genuine Parts Company?
Carlyle Fraser founded GPC in 1928 when he purchased Motor Parts Depot, a small Atlanta auto parts store, for $40,000. His brother Malcolm Fraser is also credited as a co-founder. Carlyle Fraser ran the business through its early decades and is credited with the 1948 acquisition of a controlling stake in the NAPA auto parts cooperative.
Does Genuine Parts Company own NAPA Auto Parts?
Yes. GPC acquired a controlling interest in the National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA) in 1948. NAPA Auto Parts operates as GPC’s primary automotive brand in North America, supplying both company-owned stores and independently owned member stores with replacement parts, tools, and accessories.
What happened to GPC’s office products and electrical businesses?
GPC divested EIS, Inc. (its electrical/electronic materials unit) in late 2019 and sold S.P. Richards (office products) in 2020, following a failed attempt to merge S.P. Richards with competitor Essendant. GPC now operates primarily through its Automotive and Industrial segments.
Is Genuine Parts Company a Dividend King?
Yes. GPC has increased its annual dividend for more than 68 consecutive years, placing it among the Dividend Kings — companies with at least 50 years of uninterrupted dividend growth. The company declared its most recent increase in late 2024, extending one of the longest dividend growth streaks in the US market.
What is GPC’s plan to split the company?
In late 2024, GPC announced plans to separate its Automotive and Industrial segments into two independent publicly traded companies. The separation, expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, would allow each business to operate with its own strategy and capital structure. The Automotive segment would retain the NAPA and GPC brands; the Industrial segment would operate as Motion Industries.
*Information from Forbes.com and Genpt.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “EmoryHealthSource“.