U.S. auto-dealer stocks leave Ford, GM to eat their dust

Selling cars and trucks has produced much more of a payoff for U.S. stock investors this year than making them. An index consisting of CarMax Inc. and five other auto dealers soared 85% for the year through Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gain was far larger than the 14% advance for an index of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., the manufacturers cited in a report Thursday by Edward Yardeni, president and founder of Yardeni Research. Dealers’ domestic focus largely explains the disparity, he wrote, adding that international sales at Ford and GM dropped in the third quarter.