Genuine Parts: Long-Term Outlook Intact as William Stengel Set to Succeed Donahue as CEO

Narrow-moat Genuine Parts announced CEO Paul Donahue’s plan to step down from his role in June 2024 and transition to the executive chairman position, marking an end to his eight years at the helm. William Stengel was selected to succeed Donahue, which is unsurprising given he was appointed president in 2021 and COO in 2023. Before joining Genuine Parts five years ago, Stengel was president and CEO of HD Supply Facilities Maintenance, a wholesale distributor of maintenance, repair, and operations products. With adequate industry experience and substantial contributions to improve Genuine’s efficiency across the automotive parts and industrial distribution businesses, we look favorably upon Stengel’s appointment to CEO and plan to leave our Standard Capital Allocation Rating and $150 fair value estimate unchanged. We think shares are fairly valued.