A cash bid to buy Genuine Parts (GPC) from O’Reilly Automotive prompted an immediate downgrade of its safety score by Simply Safe Dividends (SSD). GPC has been in SSD’s Borderline Safe bucket since February of this year. The first downgrade came in January 2026, when GPC’s score fell from 80, firmly inside SSD’s Safe bucket, to 70. SSD cited economic uncertainty but maintained that the dividend was well covered and that the problems were likely cyclical.

The next downgrade, to 60, at the top end of the Borderline Safe bucket, came in February 2026 after GPC announced it was splitting into two companies. That split left GPC vulnerable to the buyout O’Reilly Automotive announced just a few days ago for $10 billion. The buyout changes the dynamics of the company enough that how it will affect shareholders who count on this dividend for income remains uncertain.

Under the original spin-off plan, shareholders would have held stock in both resulting companies, providing a path to keep income investors whole.

In contrast, a sale would likely result in a lower dividend. That could be partly made up for if a meaningful share of the proceeds is paid out as a special dividend, which shareholders could reinvest to help offset the reduced payout.

Genuine Parts has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years, including a 3.2% raise in February, around the time the separation was announced. So it seems likely management would want to try to keep income investors whole.

Even so, no information has been shared, and this deal creates a wider range of outcomes for how shareholders’ income might be treated. As such, we are downgrading Genuine Parts’ Dividend Safety Score from 60 to 50 within our Borderline Safe category.

Simply Safe Dividends ($$)

My holdings in GPC are modest, since I sold portions of my position in 2022 and again in March 2026. As a result, GPC now contributes only 0.1% of my income. I won’t do anything with my remaining shares until after the sale is consummated.