Auto retail · 19/36 against 15/36 checks · to 2026-09-08
CVNA vs KMX.
CarvanaSells used cars online and delivers them, financing most of the sales.
CarMaxThe largest US used-car retailer, with its own financing arm.→Carvana (CVNA) is 6.3 times the size of CarMax (KMX) at $53.8B against $8.6B, and on the filings Carvana passes more, 19 checks of 36 against 15.
Which passes more checks?
widest gap first→The two are furthest apart on Growth, where Carvana passes 4 more of the six.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | 5/6 | 1/6 |
| Shareholder returns | 1/6 | 4/6 |
| Quality | 3/6 | 2/6 |
| Health | 4/6 | 3/6 |
| Trend analysis | 5/6 | 4/6 |
| Value | 1/6 | 1/6 |
| All checks | 19/36 | 15/36 |
→CarMax turns over $26.3B to Carvana's $25.1B, 1.1 times as much. Carvana keeps 6.3% of revenue as profit against 0.8% at CarMax.
Which is growing faster, CVNA or KMX?
→Carvana grew revenue faster last year, +54.0% against -1.6% at CarMax - 56 points apart. Over three years the order is the same, Carvana at +14.3% and CarMax at -4.5%.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $25.1B | $26.3B |
| Revenue growth, 1 year | +54.0% | -1.6% |
| Revenue CAGR, 3 years | +14.3% | -4.5% |
| Net income (TTM) | $1.6B | $222M |
| Free cash flow (TTM) | $929M | $994M |
Which hands more back to owners?
→Neither Carvana nor CarMax pays a dividend worth the name, so what either returns to owners has to come through the share count. Both pay something nominal - under a twentieth of a percent, which rounds to nothing at this price.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 0.0% | - |
| Payout ratio | 0.3% | - |
| Years of unbroken dividend | - | - |
Which keeps more of each sale?
→Carvana keeps more of each sale: gross margin of 19.4% against 10.5%, a gap of 9 points that flows into everything below it.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 19.4% | 10.5% |
| Operating margin | 8.9% | - |
| Return on equity | 38.9% | 3.6% |
Which balance sheet is stronger?
→Carvana carries much the lighter balance sheet, 1.28x of debt to equity against 2.96x - which matters most in the year a downturn arrives, not this one.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Debt / equity | 1.28x | 2.96x |
| Interest coverage | 5.3x | - |
| Cash and short-term investments | $2.6B | $132M |
Which is cheaper?
→Carvana is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 10.7x against 40.2x. Against their own histories, Carvana is above its 9.8x median and CarMax is above its 18.5x.
| CVNA | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $74.72 | $60.57 |
| Market cap | $53.8B | $8.6B |
| P/E | 10.7x | 40.2x |
| P/E, own median own 3-year median / own 11-year median | 9.8x | 18.5x |
| P/S | 2.1x | 0.3x |
| Free cash flow yield | 1.7% | 11.6% |
Where they differ most
the checks behind the gapGrowth: Carvana 4 ahead
- Outgrew its sector last year 54.0% vs 5.9% (sector 70th pct, n=21)
- Sustained growth beats its sector (3 years) 14.3% vs 8.1% (sector 70th pct, n=21)
- Profits grew last year 178.5% vs 0.0%
- Outgrew its sector last year -1.6% vs 5.9% (sector 70th pct, n=21)
- Sustained growth beats its sector (3 years) -4.5% vs 8.1% (sector 70th pct, n=21)
- Profits grew last year -60.2% vs 0.0%
Shareholder returns: CarMax 3 ahead
- Share count isn't climbing shares down 7.6% over 3 years
- Buybacks outpace the stock issued to staff $441M bought back vs $94M of stock compensation
- What it hands back fits inside its cash flow 44.4% vs 100.0%
- Share count isn't climbing shares up 122.4% over 3 years
- Buybacks outpace the stock issued to staff no buybacks against $97M of stock compensation
- Meaningful yield to owners (dividends and buybacks) $3M returned, 0.0% of market value