What LKQ Corporation does

LKQ Corporation is a global distributor of vehicle replacement parts, not a component manufacturer. It sells alternative, aftermarket, recycled, remanufactured, and recall or original-equipment collision and mechanical parts to the businesses that repair and maintain cars and trucks. Its customers are collision and mechanical repair shops, new-car dealerships, insurance companies, fleet operators, and specialty retailers across North America and Europe. The name is industry shorthand for "Like, Kind and Quality," the standard insurers use to describe a replacement part that matches what a vehicle originally carried.

The business runs through three reporting segments after recent portfolio changes: Wholesale - North America, which supplies collision and mechanical parts through the Keystone and LKQ branch network; Europe, which operates recognized distributors including Euro Car Parts in the UK, Stahlgruber in Germany, and Uni-Select's Canadian and North American operations; and Specialty, which distributes performance and accessory products for trucks, RVs, and powersports. LKQ operates more than 570 facilities and employs roughly 46,000 people. Because it is a distributor, LKQ sits between thousands of parts producers and hundreds of thousands of repair outlets, a position that makes inventory breadth, delivery speed, and catalog data its core products rather than any single part.

For procurement teams, LKQ is useful to understand as a channel. A buyer weighing an aftermarket or recycled part against a new OEM part is often choosing between LKQ's catalog and a dealer's, and the total cost of ownership math frequently favors the alternative part when fit and warranty are documented.

Financial performance

LKQ reported revenue of $13.7 billion for full-year 2025, down 1.3 percent from $13.8 billion in 2024. Net income was $596 million, compared with $666 million the prior year, and diluted earnings per share was $2.31. On an adjusted basis the company reported net income of $777 million and adjusted diluted EPS of $3.01. Parts and services organic revenue fell 2.7 percent for the year, with foreign exchange adding 1.7 percent and net divestitures reducing revenue by about half a percent.

The balance sheet is conservative for a company of this size. As of June 30, 2026, LKQ reported total debt of $4.0 billion and total leverage of 2.8 times EBITDA as defined in its credit facility. The company holds investment-grade issuer ratings, BBB- from S&P and Baa3 from Moody's, both with stable outlooks, and it returned $207 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends in the first half of 2026. Second-quarter 2026 results showed North America returning to positive organic growth for the first time in nine quarters, driven by alternative-parts utilization above 40 percent, while the Europe segment lagged on a German ERP implementation.

Ownership and history

LKQ was founded in 1998 and grew through a long run of acquisitions into the largest distributor of alternative and recycled automotive parts in North America, then expanded into Europe through deals for Euro Car Parts, Stahlgruber, and others, and into Canada and adjacent markets through the 2023 acquisition of Uni-Select. It trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker LKQ and has no parent company. In January 2017 the company announced it would move its North American headquarters to the Antioch area of Nashville, Tennessee, and the new headquarters opened in December 2018; its corporate registered office has historically been in Chicago.

Leadership per the company's investor materials: Justin L. Jude, President and Chief Executive Officer, who became CEO in July 2024 after two decades at the company; Rick Galloway, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; John R. Meyne, Senior Vice President and President of North America; and Andy Hamilton, Senior Vice President and President and Managing Director of LKQ Europe. The company has been reshaping its portfolio: it completed the sale of its Self Service segment in October 2025, and in December 2025 it began exploring a sale of its Specialty segment.

Quality and warranty

As a distributor rather than a manufacturer, LKQ publishes a quality commitment rather than a plant-level manufacturing certificate. The company states that it applies procurement standards it describes as among the strictest in the industry, rejects vehicles that do not meet its criteria for recycled inventory, uses VIN matching to verify recycled parts, and runs both internal testing and independent third-party testing on the parts it sells. It backs recycled and aftermarket collision products with lifetime warranties under what it calls the LKQ Parts Replacement Promise. Buyers evaluating alternative parts against new OEM parts should confirm which specific parts carry independent certification, since certification programs such as CAPA apply at the part level and vary by category rather than covering an entire catalog.

Customers

LKQ's direction of trade is the reverse of a Tier 1 supplier: it sells to the repair economy rather than to vehicle assemblers. Its customer base spans independent collision and mechanical repair shops, national repair chains, new-car dealerships, insurance companies that steer claims toward alternative parts, fleet operators, and specialty and accessory retailers. Insurance relationships matter to the model, because insurer acceptance of alternative parts drives the alternative-parts utilization rate that the company cites as a demand indicator. LKQ does not disclose individual customer names, which is normal for a distributor serving a fragmented base of hundreds of thousands of outlets.

Recent news

January 2026 - LKQ's Board of Directors initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company, to enhance shareholder value; the company said the review has no set deadline and may not result in any transaction.

December 2025 - The company announced a process to explore a potential sale of its Specialty segment, which is now being evaluated within the broader strategic review.

October 2025 - LKQ completed the sale of its Self Service segment, part of an ongoing effort to focus the portfolio on its core wholesale distribution business.

Frequently asked questions

What does LKQ Corporation do?

LKQ Corporation is a global distributor of vehicle replacement parts. It supplies alternative, aftermarket, recycled, remanufactured, and OEM collision and mechanical parts to repair shops, dealers, insurers, and fleets across North America and Europe. It is a distribution and logistics business, not a parts manufacturer.

Who owns LKQ Corporation?

LKQ Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker LKQ. It has no parent company. In January 2026 its board began a review of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company, though no transaction has been announced.

What is LKQ Corporation's annual revenue?

LKQ reported revenue of $13.7 billion for full-year 2025, down 1.3 percent from $13.8 billion in 2024. Net income was $596 million and diluted earnings per share was $2.31, with adjusted diluted EPS of $3.01.

Where is LKQ Corporation headquartered?

LKQ's North American headquarters is at 5846 Crossings Blvd in the Antioch area of Nashville, Tennessee, which opened in December 2018. Its corporate registered office has historically been in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 570 facilities worldwide.

Who are LKQ Corporation's customers?

LKQ sells to the repair economy rather than to vehicle assemblers. Its customers are collision and mechanical repair shops, national repair chains, new-car dealerships, insurance companies, fleet operators, and specialty retailers. It does not disclose individual customer names.

Is LKQ Corporation financially stable?

LKQ holds investment-grade credit ratings, BBB- from S&P and Baa3 from Moody's, both stable, with total leverage of 2.8 times EBITDA as of June 30, 2026. It was profitable in 2025 with $596 million in net income and returned $207 million to shareholders in the first half of 2026.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.