CarMax Inc Overview
CarMax occupies a structurally advantaged but currently underperforming position in a $1 trillion, radically fragmented market. Its moat is physical and institutional rather than technological: 256 stores across 42 states, seven stand-alone reconditioning and auction facilities, a nationwide inventory of roughly 61,000 saleable vehicles, the largest consumer vehicle-buying operation in America, a captive $16.4 billion loan book, and a brand synonymous with no-haggle integrity for three decades. That moat has been eroding at the edges. Nationwide share of zero-to-ten-year-old used vehicles has fallen from 4.0% in calendar 2021 to 3.6% in calendar 2025 while Carvana's unit volumes have compounded at more than 30% annually. FY2026 produced a net loss quarter, a full goodwill write-off, a paused buyback and a 64% five-year total shareholder return decline. New CEO Keith Barr's four-pillar plan trades gross profit per unit for volume and funds the trade with a $200 million cost reset. Execution, not strategy, is the variable.
CarMax, Inc. is the largest retailer of used vehicles in the United States, a top-three operator of wholesale vehicle auctions, and — through CarMax Auto Finance — one of the largest non-bank originators of used-vehicle credit in the country. It is presently in the first year of a leadership-driven turnaround following the involuntary termination of a nine-year CEO, the appointment of an outsider chief executive from the hospitality industry, the full write-off of its only acquisition's goodwill, and the arrival of an activist shareholder on its register.
FY2024 headcount is disclosed only as "nearly 30,000" in the FY2024 fourth-quarter release; the 30,000 figure above is that disclosure rounded and should be treated as approximate. FY2025 and FY2026 figures are precise disclosures from the respective annual reports. The 2,252-associate reduction between FY2025 and FY2026 — a 7.5% cut — is the visible arithmetic of the restructuring programme, concentrated in the Customer Experience Centers (down 631 sales associates, or 42%) and in-store sales (down 622, or 18%).
The company's own description
CarMax opens its FY2026 Form 10-K with the following characterisation of itself: it delivers an unrivalled customer experience by offering a broad selection of quality used vehicles and related products and services at competitive, no-haggle prices using a customer-friendly sales process. It states that it is the nation's largest retailer of used vehicles, having sold 780,684 used vehicles at retail during fiscal 2026; that it is one of the nation's largest operators of wholesale vehicle auctions, with 538,203 vehicles sold during fiscal 2026; and that it is one of the nation's largest providers of used-vehicle financing, servicing approximately 1.0 million customer accounts in a $16.37 billion portfolio of auto loans as of 28 February 2026. Management frames the omni-channel experience as a common platform across all of CarMax that leverages scale, national footprint and infrastructure, empowering customers to buy on their own terms — online, in store, or through a combination — and describes the integration of associates, stores, technology and digital capability as its key differentiator in a large and fragmented market.
Independent characterisation
CarMax is best understood not as a retailer but as three interlocking businesses that share a customer acquisition funnel and a real-estate footprint:
(a) A vehicle-sourcing and remarketing machine. CarMax bought approximately 1.14 million vehicles from consumers and dealers in FY2026 (987,191 from consumers, 150,619 from dealers). Roughly half meet retail standards; the balance is sold through CarMax's own wholesale auctions, where — critically — CarMax owns every car it sells, producing an average auction sales rate of approximately 99% in FY2026. This vertical integration means CarMax monetises the entire trade-in stream rather than only the retail-grade subset, and it makes the appraisal channel the cheapest inventory source available. The company explicitly states that vehicles sourced through its appraisal process are generally more profitable than those bought at third-party auction or via MaxOffer.
(b) A no-haggle retail operation. Retail used vehicles generate 80.0% of consolidated net sales but only 62.7% of gross profit, because the retail vehicle itself carries an 8.5% gross margin. The economics are per-unit, not percentage-based: management manages to a targeted gross profit dollars per unit, and the proprietary pricing engine marks vehicles down algorithmically to ensure that roughly 99% of retail inventory clears at retail. This is a working-capital-turn business dressed as a margin business.
(c) A captive prime-and-expanding-spectrum lender. CAF is where the profit actually sits. In FY2026 CAF generated $562.7 million of segment income against consolidated pre-tax earnings of $383.4 million — meaning the retail and wholesale operations, taken together and after corporate overhead, lost $179.3 million pre-tax. CAF's total interest margin was 6.4% of average loans outstanding in FY2026 and 6.7% in Q1 FY2027. This is the single most important structural fact about CarMax: the merchandising business is currently a customer-acquisition channel for the finance business.
Revenue model composition
CarMax's revenue is overwhelmingly product (vehicle) revenue with a thin but high-margin layer of agency commissions, subscription/advertising, and — accounted for outside net sales — net interest income.
Adding CAF interest and fee income to net sales gives a "total revenue" figure of approximately $27.75 billion for FY2026, which is the basis on which several data aggregators (including stockanalysis.com) report CarMax's revenue. Users of this dossier should be careful which convention is being applied: the GAAP top line is $25.88 billion.
Value-chain position and customer types
CarMax sits between the consumer trade-in market and both the retail consumer and the licensed-dealer wholesale market. It occupies four positions simultaneously: buyer of last resort from consumers (the guaranteed written offer, valid seven days, given regardless of whether the seller buys); reconditioner and quality certifier; retailer; and wholesaler to independent dealers. It also plays lender, insurance-adjacent product distributor, and — through Edmunds — automotive media publisher and dealer lead-generation platform.
Customers fall into four distinct groups: (i) retail used-vehicle buyers, overwhelmingly individual consumers, concentrated in vehicles zero to ten years old, with zero-to-six-year-old vehicles representing approximately 71% of FY2026 used unit sales and typical price points between $15,000 and $47,000 over the last three fiscal years; (ii) consumer sellers using the appraisal channel; (iii) licensed independent and franchised dealers buying at CarMax auctions (typical auction vehicle is over eleven years old with more than 100,000 miles) and selling into CarMax via MaxOffer; and (iv) dealers and OEMs purchasing advertising and subscription services from Edmunds.
End markets
CarMax operates exclusively in the United States. Its end markets are the U.S. used light-vehicle retail market (approximately 39 million units sold in calendar 2025, of which approximately 20 million were age zero to ten), the U.S. wholesale auction market (approximately 11 million vehicles sold at auction and through other channels in calendar 2025), and the U.S. auto finance sector (approximately $1.7 trillion of outstanding receivables as of 31 December 2025). All three figures are CarMax's own citations of industry sources in the FY2026 10-K.
Financial Narrative
Income statement
FY2022 detail is incomplete below because the full FY2022 statements were not retrieved in this research pass; the FY2022 figures shown are those verified from the fourth-quarter FY2022 earnings release. Cells marked "n/a" are publicly disclosed in CarMax's FY2022 Form 10-K but were not retrieved and are therefore not estimated here.
Revenue CAGR. FY2022 to FY2026: –5.1% per annum (derived from $31,899.9M to $25,881.1M over four years). FY2023 to FY2026: –4.5% per annum. Including CAF interest and fee income, the FY2023–FY2026 combined-revenue CAGR is –3.8%.
Income statement commentary — trends, inflections and drivers
The FY2022 peak was a pandemic artefact, not a base. Net revenues rose 68.3% in FY2022 to $31.9 billion on 1.63 million combined units and a record 4.0% share of the age 0–10 market. Diluted EPS of $6.97 has not been approached since; FY2026 EPS of $1.68 is 76% below it. Any assessment of CarMax must treat FY2022 as an anomaly created by used-vehicle price inflation, stimulus-supported demand and constrained new-vehicle supply.
FY2023 was the volume shock. Revenue fell 6.9%, retail used units fell 12.6%, comparable store units fell 14.3%. Notably, gross profit per retail unit rose $83 to $2,288 — management chose margin over volume, a choice it maintained through FY2025.
FY2024 was the cost year. Revenue fell a further 10.6%. Management levered SG&A as a percentage of gross profit by 450 basis points to 84.3%, but $67.2 million of that came from the non-recurring Takata airbag settlement; excluding it, leverage was 210 basis points to 86.7%. Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.70. CAF income fell 14.4% as funding costs (interest expense up 106% to $638.7 million) outran customer rate increases, compressing total interest margin from 6.9% to 6.0%.
FY2025 was a false dawn. Retail units grew 3.1%, comps grew 2.2%, gross profit rose 6.8% to $2,897.9 million, gross margin reached an eleven-year-high 11.0%, and adjusted EPS of $3.27 was the best since FY2022. The fourth quarter delivered over 80% earnings growth. Management and the market read this as the bottom. It was not.
FY2026 was the reversal. Revenue fell 1.8%; units fell 1.1% but comps fell 2.0%; gross profit fell 3.2%; SG&A rose 0.7% despite a 7.5% headcount reduction because $49.8 million of restructuring, $22.3 million of incremental advertising for the "Wanna Drive" brand campaign, and $20.2 million of higher occupancy costs offset the savings. SG&A as a percentage of gross profit deteriorated 340 basis points to 87.4%. The fourth quarter produced a 101.0% SG&A-to-gross-profit ratio — the merchandising business consumed more in overhead than it produced in gross profit. The $141.3 million goodwill impairment drove the effective tax rate to 35.5% (goodwill impairment is largely non-deductible), amplifying the EPS decline. Reported diluted EPS of $1.68 versus adjusted $2.91 is a $1.23 gap, the widest in the company's independent history.
Q1 FY2027 shows the strategy change taking hold. Revenue rose 6.2% to $8.01 billion. Combined units rose 3.3%. Retail gross profit per unit fell $230 to $2,177 — a deliberate pricing action — but retail units held flat against a prior-year quarter that had benefited from tariff-driven pull-forward demand, and wholesale units rose 8.4%. SG&A fell 3.7% and SG&A per total unit improved $118 (6.8%) to $1,619. Average retail selling price rose 4.5% to $27,288, reflecting used-vehicle price appreciation that partially offsets the GPU giveback at the revenue line. Diluted EPS of $1.31 beat consensus of roughly $0.94–$0.96 by around 39%.
Balance sheet
FY2022 is omitted from the balance-sheet tables because those statements were not retrieved in this research pass. Four years are presented.
Balance sheet commentary. Three movements dominate. First, the loan book contracted for the first time: auto loans held for investment fell $1.29 billion (7.5%) in FY2026, the direct consequence of the $900 million third-quarter non-prime securitisation in which most of the residual financial interest was sold, together with the $100 million pool designated held for sale in the fourth quarter. This is a deliberate capital-efficiency action — CarMax is converting an on-balance-sheet spread business into a partly fee-and-servicing business at the non-prime end. By 31 May 2026 auto loans held for sale had ballooned to $619.0 million, indicating the programme is being scaled.
Second, recourse leverage increased sharply in FY2026: recourse debt rose $636 million to $2,223.5 million while unrestricted cash fell to $122.8 million, its lowest level in the period. Net recourse debt rose 57% to $2,100.7 million. This is the arithmetic reason the buyback was paused — CarMax repurchased $631.8 million of stock during FY2026 while its cash balance halved.
Third, property and equipment continued to grow, rising $228 million in FY2026 to $4,070.3 million, and inventory rose $202 million to $4,137.0 million. CarMax is still building physical capacity (four new stores, two reconditioning/auction centers and two auction facilities planned for FY2027, with roughly $400 million of capex) into a shrinking unit base. That is a defensible long-cycle bet and a near-term drag on returns.
The goodwill write-off eliminated the only intangible on the balance sheet. Book value per share at 28 February 2026 was $41.53 (equity of $5,888.9 million over 141.80 million shares) and $43.12 at 31 May 2026.
Cash flow
Cash flow commentary. CarMax's operating cash flow is not economically comparable year to year because loan originations and collections flow through operating activities. FY2026's apparently outstanding $1,783.8 million of operating cash flow is largely explained by the $908.9 million of proceeds from loan sales and a near-zero net increase in loans held for investment ($31.3 million, versus $565.6 million in FY2025 and $980.6 million in FY2024). Strip those out and underlying operating cash generation is broadly flat.
The more informative figure is that CarMax funded $541.0 million of capex and $642.8 million of buybacks in FY2026 while adding $625 million of net recourse debt and drawing cash down by $124 million. That is a negative internal funding gap, and it is why the repurchase programme stopped in December 2025 after the $50.4 million bought in the fourth quarter. In Q1 FY2027, zero shares were repurchased and operating cash flow was $17.6 million (depressed by a $518.5 million build in loans held for sale ahead of a securitisation); capex fell 24% to $103.3 million.
Cumulative buybacks over the four years shown total $1,499.3 million, retiring roughly 16.3 million shares net (diluted weighted average shares fell from 159.8 million in FY2023 to 147.6 million in FY2026, a 7.6% reduction). Buying back stock at an average well above the current price has destroyed value on a mark-to-market basis, though the share-count reduction is permanent.
Ratio analysis
Return metrics use ending-period equity and assets for consistency across the four years available.
CarMax does not have a conventional cash conversion cycle because it pays for vehicles at acquisition and collects at sale, with days sales outstanding negligible on retail transactions (financing is settled at origination). Using inventory days less days payable outstanding (accounts payable over total cost of sales, times 365): FY2026 DPO is 17.7 days, giving an approximate operating cycle of 48 days versus 40 days in FY2023. Inventory has lengthened by 15 days over four years while unit sales have fallen 5.3% — a meaningful deterioration in working-capital efficiency and one of the clearest quantitative arguments for the new management's inventory and logistics agenda.
The critical ratio deterioration is net recourse debt to EBITDA, which doubled from 1.25x to 2.50x in a single year. Management's language in the Q1 FY2027 release — that repurchases will resume "depending upon market conditions, our leverage, and our capital needs" — inserted leverage as an explicit gating condition that had not appeared in prior releases.
7. SEGMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHIC REVENUE MAPPING
CarMax generates 100% of its revenue in the United States. The FY2026 Form 10-K discloses no foreign operations, no foreign subsidiaries, no export sales and no geographic segment disclosure. There is no Americas/EMEA/APAC split to present because EMEA and APAC revenue is zero. Edmunds is a U.S. business. CAF lends exclusively to U.S. customers buying from U.S. CarMax stores.
For completeness, the geographic revenue table required by the specification is therefore:
Segment by geography. Both segments are wholly domestic.
Sub-national exposure. CarMax does not disclose state-level or region-level revenue. It does disclose a geographic concentration risk factor: a large portion of sales is generated in the Southeastern United States, California, Texas, and the Washington, D.C./Baltimore corridor. On that proxy, the four largest state exposures are California (34 stores, 13.3% of the base), Texas (27, 10.5%), Florida (24, 9.4%) and North Carolina (13, 5.1%); together with Georgia and Virginia (12 each) the top six states hold 122 stores, or 47.7% of the network.
Fastest-growing and declining categories. Since no geographic split exists, the meaningful growth analysis is by revenue category. Fastest-growing in FY2026: advertising and subscription revenues (Edmunds), +3.7% — the only line to grow, driven by dealer and OEM digital advertising demand. Steepest decline: third-party finance fees, net, from –$1.5 million to –$8.7 million (–478%), driven by the mix shift from Tier 2 (fee-receiving) to Tier 3 (fee-paying) providers as consumer credit quality softened; and "Other" revenue, –7.4%, reflecting weaker service department volumes. Used vehicle revenue (–1.8%) and wholesale revenue (–1.8%) declined in lockstep, with used driven by unit decline (–1.1%) plus ASP erosion (–0.6%) and wholesale driven by unit decline (–1.1%) plus ASP erosion (–1.0%).
Financial Detail
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Net sales and operating revenues (USD M) | 31899.9 | 29684.9 | 26536.0 | 26353.4 | 25881.1 |
Gross profit (USD M) | n/a | 2800.2 | 2713.2 | 2897.9 | 2806.6 |
CarMax Auto Finance income (USD M) | 801.5 | 663.4 | 568.3 | 581.7 | 562.7 |
SG&A expenses (USD M) | n/a | 2487.4 | 2286.4 | 2435.4 | 2453.4 |
Adjusted SG&A expenses (USD M) | n/a | n/a | 2353.6 | 2435.4 | 2403.6 |
Depreciation and amortisation, income statement (USD M) | n/a | 228.4 | 239.0 | 255.3 | 273.8 |
Depreciation and amortisation, total per cash flow (USD M) | n/a | 265.2 | 260.4 | 294.8 | 346.0 |
Interest expense, non-CAF (USD M) | n/a | 120.4 | 124.8 | 107.9 | 110.4 |
Goodwill impairment (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 141.3 |
EBIT, derived as pre-tax plus interest expense (USD M) | n/a | 757.2 | 766.4 | 777.3 | 493.8 |
EBITDA, derived as EBIT plus total D&A (USD M) | n/a | 1022.4 | 1026.8 | 1072.1 | 839.8 |
Adjusted EBITDA, adding back impairment and restructuring (USD M) | n/a | 1022.4 | 959.6 | 1084.1 | 1030.9 |
Income before income taxes (USD M) | n/a | 636.8 | 641.6 | 669.4 | 383.4 |
Income tax provision (USD M) | n/a | 152.0 | 162.4 | 168.8 | 136.1 |
Net earnings (USD M) | 1151.3 | 484.8 | 479.2 | 500.6 | 247.3 |
Basic EPS (USD) | 7.09 | 3.05 | 3.03 | 3.22 | 1.68 |
Diluted EPS (USD) | 6.97 | 3.03 | 3.02 | 3.21 | 1.68 |
Adjusted diluted EPS (USD) | n/a | n/a | 2.70 | 3.27 | 2.91 |
Dividends per share (USD) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Diluted weighted average shares (M) | 165.2 | 159.8 | 158.7 | 156.1 | 147.6 |
Financial Analysis
| Margin (%) | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin | 9.4 | 10.2 | 11.0 | 10.8 |
EBIT margin (derived) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 1.9 |
EBITDA margin (derived) | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
Pre-tax margin | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
Net margin | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
Effective tax rate | 23.9 | 25.3 | 25.2 | 35.5 |
SG&A as % of gross profit | 88.8 | 84.3 | 84.0 | 87.4 |
Adjusted SG&A as % of gross profit | n/a | 86.7 | 84.0 | 85.6 |
Financial Analysis
| Balance sheet item (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents | 314.8 | 574.1 | 247.0 | 122.8 |
Restricted cash from collections on auto loans | 470.9 | 506.6 | 559.1 | 592.0 |
Accounts receivable, net | 298.8 | 221.2 | 188.7 | 204.5 |
Auto loans held for sale | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.5 |
Inventory | 3726.1 | 3678.1 | 3934.6 | 4137.0 |
Other current assets | 230.8 | 246.6 | 148.2 | 153.6 |
Total current assets | 5041.4 | 5226.6 | 5077.6 | 5310.4 |
Auto loans held for investment, net | 16341.8 | 17011.8 | 17242.8 | 15952.3 |
Property and equipment, net | 3430.9 | 3665.5 | 3841.8 | 4070.3 |
Deferred income taxes | 80.7 | 98.8 | 140.3 | 78.5 |
Operating lease assets | 545.7 | 520.7 | 493.4 | 459.5 |
Goodwill | 141.3 | 141.3 | 141.3 | 0.0 |
Other assets | 601.0 | 532.1 | 467.0 | 496.9 |
Total assets | 26182.7 | 27196.8 | 27404.2 | 26367.9 |
Accounts payable | 826.6 | 933.7 | 977.8 | 1118.0 |
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 479.0 | 524.0 | 529.9 | 475.5 |
Accrued income taxes | 0.0 | 0.0 | 87.5 | 2.0 |
Current portion of operating lease liabilities | 53.3 | 57.2 | 59.3 | 57.3 |
Current portion of long-term debt | 111.9 | 313.3 | 16.8 | 217.3 |
Current portion of non-recourse notes payable | 467.6 | 484.2 | 526.5 | 544.7 |
Total current liabilities | 1938.3 | 2312.3 | 2198.0 | 2414.8 |
Long-term debt, excluding current | 1909.4 | 1602.4 | 1570.3 | 2006.2 |
Non-recourse notes payable, excluding current | 15865.8 | 16357.3 | 16567.0 | 15254.3 |
Operating lease liabilities, excluding current | 523.8 | 496.2 | 482.0 | 464.7 |
Other liabilities | 332.4 | 354.9 | 343.9 | 339.0 |
Total liabilities | 20569.7 | 21123.1 | 21161.2 | 20479.0 |
Total shareholders' equity | 5613.1 | 6073.7 | 6243.0 | 5888.9 |
Financial Analysis
| Derived balance sheet metric (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total debt including non-recourse | 18354.7 | 18757.2 | 18680.6 | 18022.5 |
Recourse debt (long-term debt plus current portion) | 2021.3 | 1915.6 | 1587.1 | 2223.5 |
Non-recourse debt (CAF securitisation) | 16333.4 | 16841.5 | 17093.5 | 15799.0 |
Net recourse debt (recourse debt less unrestricted cash) | 1706.5 | 1341.5 | 1340.1 | 2100.7 |
Goodwill and intangibles (goodwill only, as disclosed) | 141.3 | 141.3 | 141.3 | 0.0 |
Working capital | 3103.1 | 2914.3 | 2879.7 | 2895.6 |
Financial Analysis
| Cash flow item (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Net cash provided by operating activities | 1283.3 | 458.6 | 624.4 | 1783.8 |
Capital expenditures | -422.7 | -465.3 | -467.9 | -541.0 |
Free cash flow (OCF less capex) | 860.6 | -6.7 | 156.5 | 1242.8 |
Net cash used in investing activities | -425.8 | -467.0 | -461.0 | -540.0 |
Repurchase and retirement of common stock | -333.9 | -94.1 | -428.5 | -642.8 |
Dividends paid | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Issuances of non-recourse notes payable | 14333.9 | 12380.1 | 12968.5 | 13060.4 |
Payments on non-recourse notes payable | -13440.6 | -11873.2 | -12715.7 | -14352.5 |
Proceeds from issuances of long-term debt | 3020.7 | 134.6 | 522.8 | 1538.4 |
Payments on long-term debt | -4275.4 | -246.1 | -836.6 | -913.8 |
Net cash used in financing activities | -710.2 | 307.8 | -453.5 | -1341.3 |
Proceeds from sale of auto loans | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 908.9 |
Provision for loan losses (non-cash add-back) | 317.0 | 310.5 | 334.7 | 391.2 |
Share-based compensation (non-cash add-back) | 85.6 | 119.7 | 134.7 | 99.0 |
Financial Analysis
| Ratio | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Return on equity (%) | 8.6 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 4.2 |
Return on assets (%) | 1.85 | 1.76 | 1.83 | 0.94 |
Return on invested capital, EBIT after 25% tax over recourse debt plus equity (%) | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 4.6 |
Current ratio (x) | 2.60 | 2.26 | 2.31 | 2.20 |
Debt to equity, including non-recourse (x) | 3.27 | 3.09 | 2.99 | 3.06 |
Debt to equity, recourse only (x) | 0.36 | 0.32 | 0.25 | 0.38 |
Net recourse debt to EBITDA (x) | 1.67 | 1.31 | 1.25 | 2.50 |
Interest coverage, EBIT over non-CAF interest expense (x) | 6.3 | 6.1 | 7.2 | 4.5 |
Total asset turnover (x) | 1.13 | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.98 |
Inventory turns (cost of used and wholesale sales over ending inventory, x) | 7.1 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 5.5 |
Days inventory outstanding (days) | 51 | 57 | 62 | 66 |
Financial Analysis
| Geography | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
United States (USD M) | 26536.0 | 26353.4 | 25881.1 |
Europe, Middle East and Africa (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Asia-Pacific (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rest of world (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Financial Analysis
| Geographic growth (%) | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
United States | -10.6 | -0.7 | -1.8 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Share price | $61.32 (+$0.80, +1.32%) |
After-hours | $60.38 |
Previous close | $60.52 |
Day's range | $60.71–$62.25 |
52-week range | $30.26–$65.28 |
Market capitalisation | $8.70 billion |
Shares outstanding | 141.91 million |
Average volume (session) | 1,355,383 |
Beta | 1.17 |
Dividend | None |
Next earnings | 29 September 2026 |
Capital Markets
| Index / stock | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CarMax | 100.00 | 91.48 | 57.76 | 66.09 | 69.40 | 36.10 |
S&P 600 Index | 100.00 | 104.22 | 100.57 | 107.11 | 113.83 | 134.19 |
S&P 500 Index | 100.00 | 116.39 | 107.44 | 140.15 | 165.95 | 194.15 |
S&P 500 Retailing Index | 100.00 | 107.03 | 84.10 | 129.74 | 150.24 | 152.70 |
Capital Markets
| Multiple | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
P/E, trailing twelve months | 39.9x | GAAP TTM EPS of approximately $1.54 |
P/E, forward | 21.9x | Consensus forward earnings |
P/E on FY2026 adjusted EPS | 21.1x | $61.32 / $2.91 |
P/S | 0.33x | $8.70 billion / TTM net sales of approximately $26.35 billion |
P/B | 1.42x | $8.70 billion / equity of $6,119 million at 31 May 2026 |
Book value per share | $43.12 | At 31 May 2026 |
EV/Sales, including non-recourse debt | 1.01x | EV of approximately $26.70 billion |
EV/Sales, recourse debt only | 0.40x | EV of approximately $10.65 billion |
EV/EBITDA, recourse only, on FY2026 derived EBITDA | 12.7x | $10.65 billion / $839.8 million |
EV/EBITDA, recourse only, on FY2026 adjusted EBITDA | 10.3x | $10.65 billion / $1,030.9 million |
Dividend yield | 0.0% | No dividend |
Capital Markets
| Provider | Coverage | Consensus rating | Average 12-month price target | Implied versus $61.32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
S&P Global Market Intelligence, via stockanalysis.com | 19 analysts | Hold | $54.85 | –10.6% |
S&P Global, low target | $33.00 | –46.2% | ||
S&P Global, high target | $96.00 | +56.6% |
Capital Markets
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
Current authorisation | Increased by $2.0 billion in April 2022; no expiry date |
Remaining as of 28 February 2026 and 31 May 2026 | $1,305,060,166 (approximately $1.31 billion) |
Mechanics | Open market including Rule 10b5-1 plans, or privately negotiated transactions at management's discretion; repurchased shares are deemed authorised but unissued |
Status | Paused. No repurchases in January or February 2026 or in Q1 FY2027 |
Stated conditions for resumption | Market conditions, leverage, and capital needs |
Capital Markets
| Repurchases (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | Q1 FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash used for repurchase and retirement of common stock | 333.9 | 94.1 | 428.5 | 642.8 | 2.3 |
Capital Markets
| Component (USD M, at 28 February 2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
Current portion of long-term debt | 217.3 |
Long-term debt, excluding current portion | 2006.2 |
Total recourse debt | 2223.5 |
Current portion of non-recourse notes payable | 544.7 |
Non-recourse notes payable, excluding current portion | 15254.3 |
Total non-recourse (securitisation) debt | 15799.0 |
Total debt | 18022.5 |
Operating lease liabilities (current and non-current) | 522.0 |
Cash and cash equivalents | 122.8 |
Restricted cash from collections on auto loans | 592.0 |
Total shareholders' equity | 5888.9 |
Capital Markets
| Catalyst / monitorable | Timing | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
Q2 FY2027 results | 29 September 2026 | Comparable store used unit growth — the first clean read on whether the pricing reset produces positive comps. Also retail GPU (has the giveback stabilised near $2,150–$2,200?) and SG&A per total unit |
Strategic Update | Late fall 2026 | Whether management retires or resets the 2-million-unit, $33 billion revenue and 5% share long-term targets; whether a GPU floor and a target operating margin are given; capital allocation framework |
SG&A exit-rate savings | Through Q4 FY2027 (Feb 2027) | Delivery of the $200 million; whether savings are retained or competed away in price |
CAF allowance and provision | Quarterly | Allowance as a percentage of loans held for investment (2.95% at May 2026, trending up); provision as a percentage of average loans; Tier 2/Tier 3 originations as a share of units |
Loans held for sale and securitisation cadence | Quarterly | $619.0 million at 31 May 2026; gain-on-sale and servicing income lines; whether the originate-to-distribute model scales beyond non-prime |
Resumption of share repurchases | Any time | $1.31 billion authorisation. Management named leverage as a condition; net recourse debt to EBITDA below approximately 2.0x would be the plausible trigger |
CY2026 market share data | Early calendar 2027 | Whether the four-year share decline stops. This is the single cleanest test of the strategy |
Starboard Value's position | 13F filings, quarterly | Having trimmed in Q2 CY2026; a full exit removes discipline, re-engagement raises the pressure |
Used vehicle depreciation and wholesale pricing | Monthly | Steep depreciation cut wholesale GPU $116 in Q3 FY2026; wholesale ASPs rose 5.1% in Q1 FY2027 |
Consumer credit conditions and interest rates | Continuous | Affordability is the binding demand constraint; CAF weighted average contract rate 11.3% |
Tariffs and trade policy | Continuous | Parts and vehicle cost, construction steel, and the pull-forward/payback dynamic in demand |
Executive team stability | Continuous | Reported departure of Diane Cafritz; whether Barr brings in external hires |
S&P 600 index membership | Continuous | Demotion from the S&P 500 has already occurred; a recovery in market capitalisation would matter for flows |
Executive Leadership
| Name | Age | Title | CarMax tenure | Prior roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Keith Barr | 55 | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director | Joined March 2026 | CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, July 2017–June 2023; previously IHG Chief Commercial Officer; four years as CEO of IHG Greater China; joined IHG 2000; earlier senior roles at Bristol Hotels and Resorts. Director of MGM Resorts International; former director of Yum! Brands (2020–2026) and IHG (2017–2023) |
Enrique N. Mayor-Mora | 57 | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer | Joined 2011 | VP Finance 2011; VP and Treasurer 2016; SVP and CFO 2019; EVP and CFO 2022. Previously VP of FP&A and investor relations at Denny's Corporation 2005–2011; financial roles at Gap, Inc. 2001–2005. Chairs CarMax's management-level Risk Committee |
C. Joseph Wilson | 53 | Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer | Joined 1995 | Buyer-in-training, Raleigh NC store; buyer; senior buyer; purchasing manager (South Florida); regional VP merchandising; AVP auction services 2008; VP auction services 2013; VP merchandising operations 2016; SVP store strategy and logistics 2017; EVP and COO 2022 |
Diane L. Cafritz | 55 | Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation and People Officer | Joined 2003 | Assistant general counsel 2003; associate general counsel 2005; deputy general counsel 2010; VP 2014; SVP and CHRO 2017; SVP GC/CCO/CHRO 2021; EVP GC/CCO/CHRO 2022; EVP HR, GC and CCO 2023; current role 2024. Previously partner at McDermott, Will & Emery |
Shamim Mohammad | 57 | Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Technology Officer | Joined 2012 | VP application development and IT planning 2012; SVP and CIO 2014; SVP and CITO 2018; EVP and CITO 2021. Previously VP of IT at BJ's Wholesale Club 2006–2012; technology leadership at Blockbuster and TravelCLICK. Independent director of United Natural Foods, Inc. since 2022 |
Jon G. Daniels | 54 | Executive Vice President, CarMax Auto Finance | Joined 2008 | VP risk and analytics 2008; SVP CarMax Auto Finance 2014; EVP CarMax Auto Finance 2025. Previously group director, credit risk management at HSBC; VP at Metris |
John M. Stuckey, III | 52 | Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Joined 2004 | Corporate counsel 2004; VP and deputy GC 2015; VP, deputy GC and corporate secretary 2021; current role 2024. Previously securities and M&A practice at Hunton & Williams |
| Date | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|
4 November 2025 | William D. Nash involuntarily terminated without cause as President and CEO | Following the Q2 FY2026 miss (EPS $0.64 versus $1.03 consensus) and a deteriorating share price. Nash receives separation benefits under his Amended and Restated Severance Agreement, including a 75% pro-rata FY2026 bonus of $487,226 |
1 December 2025 | Nash resigns from the Board; director David W. McCreight becomes Interim President and CEO; Chair Thomas J. Folliard becomes Interim Executive Chair | Board turns to its own membership for an interim operator with omni-channel retail experience |
May 2025 | An executive officer departs (not named in the 2026 proxy); Diane Cafritz assumes oversight of Edmunds, corporate and business development, data science and AI, and corporate strategy; base salary raised 9% to $700,000 plus a $200,000 grant | Consolidation of strategy and innovation under a long-tenured internal executive. Contemporaneous reporting identifies James Lyski (Chief Marketing/Experience Officer) among prior named executive officers no longer listed |
2025 | Jon G. Daniels promoted from SVP to EVP, CarMax Auto Finance | Elevation of CAF as CAF becomes the profit engine and the full-spectrum strategy launches |
February 2026 | Keith Barr appointed President and CEO effective 16 March 2026, and appointed to the Board | External hire from outside automotive retail |
16 March 2026 | Barr assumes office; McCreight returns to independent director status and rejoins the Compensation and Personnel Committee | |
23 June 2026 | Folliard resumes non-executive Chair; Mark F. O'Neil becomes lead independent director, replacing Mitchell D. Steenrod | |
Announced 2026 (effective date not confirmed) | Diane L. Cafritz to depart; an amended severance agreement and a consulting agreement running 1 January 2027 to 30 June 2027 have been entered into | — |
| Name | Age | Director since | Independent | Principal background | Other current public boards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas J. Folliard (Chair) | 61 | 2006 | No | CarMax CEO 2006–2016; joined CarMax 1993 as senior buyer; Interim Executive Chair Dec 2025–Jun 2026 | PulteGroup, Inc. |
Keith Barr | 55 | 2026 | No | President and CEO of CarMax; former CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group | MGM Resorts International |
Peter J. Bensen | 63 | 2018 | Yes | Former CFO (2008–2015) and Chief Administrative Officer (2015–2016) of McDonald's; previously senior manager at Ernst & Young | Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. |
Sona Chawla | 58 | 2017 | Yes | Chief Growth and Innovation Officer at CDW 2020–2025; President of Kohl's 2018–2019; Walgreens President of Digital and CMO; Dell; Wells Fargo. CERT cybersecurity oversight certification | None |
William C. Cobb | 69 | 2026 | Yes | CEO of Frontdoor, Inc. since 2022 and Chairman since its 2018 spin-off; CEO of H&R Block 2011–2017; eBay 2000–2008; PepsiCo/TRICON 1987–2000. Recommended by Starboard Value LP | Frontdoor, Inc. |
James Kessler | 53 | 2026 | Yes | CEO of RB Global, Inc. since 2023; President and COO 2021–2023; President Emerging Business at Caliber Collision; COO of ABRA Auto Body and Glass; Pep Boys. Recommended by Starboard Value LP | RB Global, Inc. |
David W. McCreight | 63 | 2018 | Yes | CarMax Interim President and CEO Dec 2025–Mar 2026; Executive Chair and CEO of Lulu's Fashion Lounge; President of Urban Outfitters 2016–2018; CEO of Anthropologie 2011–2018; President of Under Armour 2008–2010; President of Lands' End | Victoria's Secret & Co. |
Mark F. O'Neil (Lead Independent Director from 23 June 2026) | 67 | 2019 | Yes | COO of Cox Automotive to 2019; CEO of Dealertrack Technologies 2001–2015; CarMax roles 1992–2000 including VP; President and COO of Greenlight.com; Intel; McKinsey | None |
Robert T. O'Shaughnessy | 60 | 2026 | Yes | EVP of PulteGroup to March 2026; PulteGroup EVP and CFO 2011–2025; EVP and CFO of Penske Automotive Group 2007–2011; Penske SVP and Controller 1997–2007; Ernst & Young. Recommended by Chair Thomas Folliard | None |
Pietro Satriano | 63 | 2018 | Yes | CEO of US Foods 2015–2022 and Chairman 2017–2022; Chief Merchandising Officer of US Foods; President of LoyaltyOne Canada; Loblaw; BCG; Monitor | Conagra Brands, Inc.; Metro Inc. (TSX) |
Marcella Shinder | 59 | 2015 | Yes | Global Head of Partnerships and Global Head of Marketing at WeWork 2018–2019; CMO of WorkMarket 2016–2018; CMO of Nielsen 2011–2016; 17 years at American Express. CERT cybersecurity oversight certification | None (private: Zappi) |
| Governance attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
Board size | 11 |
Independent directors | 9 of 11 (82%) |
Chair/CEO separation | Yes. CarMax has historically split the roles. Folliard is non-executive Chair but is not independent (former executive officer and recent Interim Executive Chair) |
Lead independent director | Mark F. O'Neil from 23 June 2026 (previously Mitchell D. Steenrod from 2019) |
Board classification | Declassified; all directors elected annually |
Voting standard | Majority vote in uncontested elections |
Mandatory retirement | Directors may not stand for re-election after age 76, subject to limited exceptions |
Proxy access | Yes — a shareholder or group of up to 20 holding 3% for three years may nominate up to 20% of the Board |
Special meeting right | Yes — adopted by bylaw amendment in January 2025 |
Gender composition | 2 of 11 nominees female (Chawla, Shinder) |
Racial/ethnic diversity | 1 of 11 nominees (Chawla) |
FY2026 Board meetings | 13; committees met 35 times combined; average director attendance 95%; minimum individual attendance 86% |
Say-on-pay support | Approximately 88% in 2025; approximately 90% in 2024 |
Related person transactions in FY2026 | None |
| Committee | Chair | Members | FY2026 meetings |
|---|---|---|---|
Audit | Peter J. Bensen (designated audit committee financial expert) | James Kessler, Robert T. O'Shaughnessy, Pietro Satriano | 9 |
Compensation and Personnel | Mark F. O'Neil | Sona Chawla, David W. McCreight | 17 |
Nominating and Governance | Marcella Shinder | David W. McCreight, Mark F. O'Neil | 5 |
Technology and Innovation | Sona Chawla | William C. Cobb, Pietro Satriano, Marcella Shinder | 4 |
| Named executive officer | FY2026 base salary (USD) | Bonus target (% of salary) | Target bonus (USD) | Actual FY2026 bonus (USD) | Maximum bonus (USD) | Total compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
David W. McCreight (Interim CEO) | 1200000 annualised | Not eligible | 0 | 0 | 0 | Not retrieved; includes one-third of a $3,600,000 RSU grant, approximately $1,200,000, with the balance forfeited |
Enrique N. Mayor-Mora (CFO) | 799387 | 95 | 759418 | 227825 | 1518835 | Not retrieved |
C. Joseph Wilson (COO) | 721000 | 95 | 684950 | 205485 | 1369900 | Not retrieved |
Diane L. Cafritz | 700000 | 95 | 665000 | 196435 | 1330000 | Not retrieved |
Shamim Mohammad | 644709 | 95 | 612474 | 183742 | 1224947 | Not retrieved |
William D. Nash (former CEO) | 1231776 | 175 | 2155608 | 487226 | 4311216 | Not retrieved; separation benefits under severance agreement |
| Element | Amount / terms |
|---|---|
Annual base salary | $1,250,000 |
Annual target bonus | 175% of base salary ($2,187,500) |
Sign-on RSUs | $1,000,000 grant-date fair value, cliff vest 16 March 2027 |
Sign-on stock options | $1,000,000 grant-date fair value, ratable four-year vesting |
Annual PSUs | $3,500,000 target grant-date fair value, three-year cliff vest |
Annual MSUs (market stock units) | $3,500,000 target grant-date fair value, three-year cliff vest |
Perquisite | Personal use of corporate aircraft, capped at $200,000 per fiscal year |
Severance | Two times the sum of base salary and target annual bonus on termination without cause or resignation for good reason, paid in 52 biweekly installments |
Implied target total direct compensation | Approximately $12.4 million including sign-on grants; approximately $10.4 million on a run-rate basis |
| Fee type | FY2025 (USD) | FY2026 (USD) |
|---|---|---|
Audit fees | 3007359 | 3215382 |
Audit-related fees | 696000 | 806000 |
Tax fees | 112481 | 82500 |
Total | 3815840 | 4103882 |
| Holder | Shares | % of shares outstanding | Quarter-on-quarter change |
|---|---|---|---|
The Vanguard Group | 16855158 | 11.78 | -668141 (-3.81%) |
BlackRock (Institutional Trust Company entity; group total reported separately at approximately 16.8 million) | 7821489 | 5.47 | +239673 (+3.16%) |
State Street Investment Management | 5541586 | 3.87 | -127145 (-2.24%) |
Janus Henderson Investors | 4875229 | 3.41 | +46760 (+0.97%) |
Diamond Hill Capital Management | 4833319 | 3.38 | -2128619 (-30.58%) |
PRIMECAP Management | 4560371 | 3.19 | -177540 (-3.75%) |
Dimensional Fund Advisors | 3685201 | 2.58 | +918553 (+33.20%) |
Arrowstreet Capital | 3522923 | 2.46 | +1494205 (+73.65%) |
| Date | Initiative | Target / detail |
|---|---|---|
Q3 FY2026 (Dec 2025) | SG&A cost reduction programme announced | At least $150 million in exit-rate savings by the end of fiscal 2027 |
Q3 FY2026 | Customer Experience Center workforce reduction | First significant step toward the savings target; CEC sales associates fell from 1,510 to 879 over FY2026 |
Q3 FY2026 | Second non-prime securitisation of calendar 2025 | $900 million, with most of the related residual financial interest sold; generated $26.9 million gain on sale of auto loans in FY2026 and $9.7 million of servicing income |
Q4 FY2026 (Apr 2026) | SG&A target raised | From $150 million to $200 million in exit-rate savings by the end of fiscal 2027 |
Q4 FY2026 | Corporate workforce reduction | $33.9 million of restructuring charges in the quarter; $49.8 million for the year |
Q4 FY2026 | Share repurchase programme paused | $1.31 billion remaining under the April 2022 $2 billion authorisation |
Q4 FY2026 | SG&A efficiency metric changed | From SG&A as a percent of gross profit to SG&A per total unit, on the stated grounds of stronger alignment with driving unit volumes |
Q4 FY2026 | $100 million pool of non-prime loans designated held for sale | Does not require a loss reserve; extends the originate-to-distribute model |
FY2026 | CAF full credit spectrum expansion | CAF building capability to scale participation across all credit tiers; Tier 2/Tier 3 originations move from approximately 2% to under 5% of total used units sold |
FY2026 | "Wanna Drive" brand positioning campaign launched | Advertising expense rose 8.6% to $283.0 million in FY2026 |
FY2026 | Sports sponsorship expansion | Front-of-kit sponsorship of NWSL's Gotham FC; founding partnership of WNBA's Golden State Valkyries |
FY2026 | Richmond ballpark naming rights | Home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA), opened April 2026 |
FY2026 | Skye AI virtual assistant | Deployed across website, app, and internally in CECs |
FY2026 | Modernised vehicle title hub | Rolled out to 100% of stores |
FY2026 | Appraisal pick-up offering | Expanded to 100% of stores offering alternative delivery |
FY2026 | Optimised logistics planning | Expanded to 80% of markets |
FY2026 | MaxCare+ | Expanded to 30% of stores |
Q1 FY2027 (Jun 2026) | Four-pillar Strategy for Growth unveiled | Objective: "deliver strong unit sales and earnings growth that enables us to consistently reward our shareholders" |
Q1 FY2027 | Earnings call time changed to 8:00 a.m. ET | Minor but signals a change in investor-communication cadence |
Aug 2026 | Sierra partnership announced | AI voice agents for inbound sales calls, deployed May 2026 |
Ongoing | Offsite production and auction network build-out | FY2027: four new stores, two reconditioning/auction centers, two auction facilities |
| Target | Detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
SG&A reduction | $200 million exit-rate savings by end of fiscal 2027 | Reaffirmed in Q1 FY2027 as "on track"; SG&A per total unit improved $118 in Q1 |
SG&A leverage | Expect to leverage SG&A per total unit in fiscal 2027 when excluding FY2026 restructuring charges | Achieved in Q1 FY2027 |
Capital expenditure | Approximately $400 million in fiscal 2027 | Q1 FY2027 capex of $103.3 million annualises to $413 million |
Unit growth | Expect unit sales momentum to continue through fiscal 2027 and to outperform the broader used-car market on a unit basis | Q1 FY2027 combined units +3.3% |
Long-term volume target | More than 2 million combined retail and wholesale units annually, timeframe extended in April 2024 to a fiscal 2026–2030 window | FY2026 actual: 1,318,887 units. The target implies a 52% increase and is, on current trajectory, not credible within the stated window. A revised framework is expected at the fall 2026 Strategic Update |
Long-term revenue target | $33 billion annual revenue, expected to be achieved sooner than the unit target | FY2026 actual: $25.9 billion |
Long-term market share target | More than 5% of nationwide age 0–10 used vehicles | Calendar 2025 actual: 3.6%, moving away from target for a fourth year |
Capital allocation | Invest in core business and digital, expand store and capacity footprint, pursue CAF full-spectrum expansion, pursue growth through investments/partnerships/acquisitions, return excess capital; manage net leverage to preserve efficient capital access | Buyback paused; leverage now an explicit constraint |
Competitive Landscape
| Competitor | Model | Scale reference | Positioning against CarMax |
|---|---|---|---|
Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) | Digital-first, centralised reconditioning, vending-machine delivery, captive finance with heavy loan-sale monetisation | Calendar 2024 revenue $13.67 billion, 416,348 retail units (+33%), net income $404 million, adjusted EBITDA $1.378 billion (10.1% margin). Q2 2025 revenue $4.84 billion, 143,280 retail units (+41%), net income $308 million, adjusted EBITDA $601 million (12.4% margin). Calendar 2025 revenue approximately $20.3 billion (Ken Research; secondary source) | The existential competitor. Growing units at 30–40% while CarMax shrinks, and running a double-digit adjusted EBITDA margin against CarMax's low-single-digit. Carvana's cost per retail unit sold is structurally lower because it has no store network to carry |
Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) | Largest U.S. franchised group by revenue; Driveway digital platform extended to all 50 states in 2025; GreenCars | 2024 revenue approximately $36.2 billion; 2025 run rate approximately $37.6 billion; approximately 260 dealerships (secondary source). Q2 2026: 106,114 used retail units | Franchised scale plus a nationwide digital layer. Can offer OEM certified pre-owned, which CarMax cannot |
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN) | Franchised group plus stand-alone AutoNation USA used stores; AutoNation Express digital retailing; mobile service | Q2 2026: 64,521 used retail units at 269 stores | Direct competitor in used, with the CPO and service advantages of franchise relationships |
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG) | Franchised group plus CarShop used-vehicle supercenters in the U.S. and U.K.; also owns a commercial truck distribution business | Historically approximately $25–30 billion revenue | The CarShop format is the closest franchised analogue to a CarMax superstore |
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI) | Franchised group, U.S. and U.K.; AcceleRide digital | Historically approximately $14–20 billion revenue | Regional overlap in Texas and the Southeast — CarMax's densest markets |
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG) | Franchised group; Clicklane fully digital transaction platform processing over 18,000 online vehicle purchases monthly in 2025 | Historically approximately $10–17 billion revenue | Clicklane is the most complete digital transaction stack among franchised groups |
Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH) | Franchised group plus EchoPark stand-alone used-vehicle stores | Historically approximately $12–14 billion revenue; EchoPark targeted $14 billion of revenue by 2025 | EchoPark is a direct format competitor with a low-gross, high-volume model |
America's Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) | Buy-here-pay-here integrated retail and finance in small-town markets | Substantially smaller | Competes at the deep-subprime end where CAF is now expanding |
Hertz Global Holdings / Avis Budget Group | Rental fleet remarketing direct to consumers | Multi-billion used-vehicle disposal volumes | Compete on supply (fleet vehicles) and increasingly on retail disposal |
Millions of private individuals and over 18,000 franchised plus tens of thousands of independent dealers | Fragmented | Collectively approximately 96.4% of the age 0–10 market | The true competitive set: CarMax's 3.6% share means 27 out of every 28 relevant vehicles are sold by someone else |
| Metric | CarMax (FY2026, to Feb 2026) | Carvana (CY2024, verified) | Lithia Motors (CY2024, approximate) | AutoNation (recent, approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (USD B) | 25.9 | 13.7 | 36.2 | 27.0 |
Revenue growth (%) | -1.8 | 27.0 | — | — |
Retail used units | 780684 | 416348 | — | — |
Retail used unit growth (%) | -1.1 | 33.0 | — | — |
Gross margin (%) | 10.8 | — | — | — |
Net income (USD M) | 247.3 | 404.0 | — | — |
Net margin (%) | 1.0 | 3.0 | — | — |
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) | 4.0 (derived) | 10.1 | — | — |
R&D intensity (%) | Not disclosed as a separate line | Not disclosed as a separate line | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
Captive finance | Yes; $16.4 billion on-balance-sheet portfolio, $562.7 million segment income | Yes; monetised primarily through loan sales rather than balance-sheet retention | Yes (Driveway Finance) | Limited |
Physical footprint | 256 stores plus 7 offsite facilities | Inspection centers and vending machines, no traditional store network | Approximately 260 franchised dealerships | Approximately 269 stores |
