Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $3.12 EPS

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $3.12, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 30.62% and a net margin of 3.44%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 58.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Carvana’s conference call:

• Carvana reported record volume and profitability in 2025 — retail units up 43% to 596,641, full‑year revenue +58%, and a record 11% adjusted EBITDA margin with Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $511 million.
• Reconditioning costs and operational execution slipped in Q4, driving higher non‑vehicle costs and a decline in retail GPU; management expects elevated reconditioning expense to continue into Q1 while they remediate the issues.
• Balance sheet and financing strengthened — $2.3 billion cash, $709 million of corporate notes retired, net debt/TTM adjusted EBITDA down to 1.3x, and expanded loan purchase agreements (an incremental <$strong>12B over two years plus $6B with Ally) to support originations.
• Company emphasizes scalability: it owns real estate sized for 3 million annual retail units, currently has facilities for ~1.5M and 34 reconditioning locations, and reiterates a long‑term goal of 3M units and 13.5% adjusted EBITDA, contingent on execution.
• Customer experience and tech progress: multi‑year highs in NPS, faster delivery (1 day quicker) and ~$60 average customer shipping savings, plus increased self‑service aided by AI (30% of buyers complete the process without speaking to a person), which management says is driving conversion and word‑of‑mouth.

Carvana Stock Performance

NYSE CVNA traded down $9.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $351.62. 3,483,477 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,031,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 4.05 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $428.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $382.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.47 and a beta of 3.57. Carvana has a fifty-two week low of $148.25 and a fifty-two week high of $486.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CVNA. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Carvana from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus began coverage on shares of Carvana in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson set a $360.00 target price on Carvana in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Carvana from $600.00 to $519.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $459.91.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In related news, insider Paul W. Breaux sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.50, for a total transaction of $8,770,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,383,226.50. The trade was a 22.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.50, for a total value of $17,580,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 100,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,283,141. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 420,351 shares of company stock worth $179,589,049 in the last three months. 17.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Carvana in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 251.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in Carvana by 155.6% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Carvana during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Carvana by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Carvana

Here are the key news stories impacting Carvana this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 results — Carvana reported much stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS (revenue $5.6B, +58% YoY; EPS $4.22 vs. ~ $1.10 consensus), showing solid demand and improved profitability. BusinessWire: Carvana Announces Record Fourth Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still have bullish convictions — several firms reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings with high targets (e.g., Needham $500, Stephens $519), supporting upside narratives for long-term margin recovery. TickerReport: Stephens reaffirms rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — a number of firms trimmed 12‑month targets (Wells Fargo, BTIG, BofA, Wedbush cut targets) but kept positive ratings; that reflects confidence in the recovery story but also closer scrutiny of near‑term margins. Proactive: Wedbush trims target but keeps outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and guidance/visibility concerns — traders sold the stock after management’s commentary left 2026 visibility unclear and flagged retail-level deterioration; pre-market weakness and large after‑hours drops reflect those concerns. MSN: CVNA stock slumps pre-market
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and scrutiny risk — reports highlight a miss on profit‑margin metrics and growing accounting/regulatory questions; an investor class‑action probe was announced, increasing legal/regulatory uncertainty. Blockonomi: Margins miss GlobeNewswire: Pomerantz investigation

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.