CluenexAptiv APTV
Aptiv scores weak on business quality (4.1 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Aptiv does
Aptiv makes vehicle electrical and safety architecture, selling vehicle wiring, connectors, and software directly to global automakers.
- What it does best
Aptiv excels at embedding its electrical distribution systems deep into vehicle production lines. Its 19.7% gross margin outpaces peer VGNT at 12.3%, showing superior pricing power in complex wiring harnesses that automakers find difficult to swap out mid-cycle.
- The main risk
Aptiv's heavy debt load of $7.6 billion leaves it vulnerable if automotive production volumes stall. With an interest coverage ratio of 6.2x, earnings absorb interest payments safely, but a drop in vehicle output squeezes already thin margins.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin rests at 10.9% and net margin sits at 1.2%, yielding a thin 2.4% ROE. Scale has not yet translated into fat bottom-line returns.
Aptiv locks in major automakers through complex, proprietary vehicle architecture. Its gross margin sits in the bottom quartile of its sector at 17th percentile, limiting deep competitive separation.
Revenue growth crawls at 3.5% annually, dipping from $20.4 billion previously down to $18.7 billion, signaling a fading top-line engine compared to past years.
Net debt sits at $5.7 billion while free cash flow reached $763 million, supported by $1.4 billion in operating cash flow. The balance sheet is holding steady.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
4 insiders bought $8.3M on the open market.
Our sealed record on APTV
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Aptiv scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.1 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 4 insiders bought $8.3M on the open market.
Oct 28, 2026, before the open.
See APTV today
- Today's verdict on APTV, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Aptiv (APTV)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/aptv/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.