Cars and Drivers

Why CarMax Is Friday's Big Earnings Winner

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CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The company posted $1.33 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.79 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $1.24 in EPS and revenue of $4.61 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.13 and $4.54 billion in revenue.

During the quarter, total used unit sales rose by 1.6% from last year, while used comparable sales declined 2.3%. The comparable store sales performance primarily reflected lower store traffic, partially offset by improved conversion, as well as a tough comparison as the firm lapped its strongest prior year performance.

Total wholesale unit sales increased by 9.6%, largely driven by an increase in the appraisal buy rate and the growth in the store base.

Compared with last year’s first quarter, CarMax Auto Finance income increased 5.7% to $115.6 million. The increase reflected the combined effects of an 8.7% increase in average managed receivables and a slightly lower total interest margin percentage.

The company did not issue any guidance except to say that it plans to open 15 stores within the next 12 months. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters for the second quarter are $1.16 in EPS and $4.57 billion in revenue.

Bill Nash, president and CEO, kept it short and sweet:

While our comparable store unit sales performance improved significantly from the February 2018 quarter, we believe macro pricing factors still had some effect on our first quarter sales.

Shares of CarMax were last seen up about 13% at $80.61, with a consensus analyst price target of $74.60 and a 52-week trading range of $57.05 to $80.69.

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