Very little debt to repay and plenty of cash on hand, so it is hard to shake.
Metrics · D/E ~1% · Current Ratio 7.61
💲Is the price expensive now?
Not cheap (fair to slightly pricey)
Because it is a good, popular company, those expectations are already priced in.
Metrics · P/E 17.4 · P/B 3.0
💡Owns the salvage-auction network; 37.8% operating margin is 2x+ peers. Fortress balance sheet (D/E 0.01, $4.2B cash); 17.4x P/E near a 10-year low.
Compiled from public financial data. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. · Source: stockanalysis (margins, ROE, P/B are TTM; effectively debt-free) · P/E on the July 24 close, as of 2026-07-24
Business Summary · Key Value Metrics
Sells damaged and total-loss vehicles through online auctions. It takes cars that insurers have written off on consignment and auctions them to dismantlers, exporters, and rebuilders worldwide for a fee. It owns the land under 250-plus auction yards. TTM revenue $4.64B, operating margin 37.8%, ROE 17.6%.
Current Price
$27.94
+2.72%+$0.74· Close 2026-07-24
Analyst Consensus Target (external reference)
$40.30
Avg. of 13 external analysts · stockanalysis (13-analyst consensus, Buy · high $55 / low $26)
P/E (TTM)
17.4x
TTM · 10-year low
Operating margin
37.8%
TTM · 2x+ peers
ROE
17.6%
TTM · lower on cash build
Debt/Equity
0.01x
debt-free · current ratio 7.61
Dividend yield
None
$4.2B cash pile
Market cap
$25.9B
as of 2026-07-24
Economic Moat · Key Business Segments
Copart's moat is the two-sided network linking insurers (supply) with global buyers (demand), plus the real estate under it. Insurers need large-scale auction infrastructure for total-loss cars, and buyers gather where the volume is, forming an effective duopoly with IAA (now RB Global). Copart owns the land under 250-plus yards, and salvage-yard zoning is extremely hard to permit, so the barrier strengthens in a downturn. The consignment-fee model partly buffers absolute vehicle-price swings (Source: company IR, stockanalysis).
Two-sided network, duopoly
Insurers to global buyers. Volume attracts volume; an effective duopoly with IAA.
Owns the auction land
250+ yards mostly owned. Zoning is near-impossible to permit — barrier strengthens in a downturn.
Fortress balance sheet
Debt-free, 7.61 current ratio, $4.2B cash. Can go on offense — land, buybacks, M&A — in a crash.
Consignment-fee model
Partly buffers absolute price swings. Total-loss frequency rises long-term with inflation.
10-Year Financial Trends
Revenue compounded at a 9-year CAGR of +15.5% ($1.27B in FY2016 to $4.65B in FY2025). Net income and EPS CAGR of +21.4% ran faster, partly on low tax rates from stock-comp benefits in FY2017 and FY2019-2020. EPS is standardized for three 2:1 splits (latest 2022, 2023). Operating margin peaked at 42% in FY2021 and normalized toward the mid-30s as the pandemic used-car boom faded. A recent drop in U.S. insurance units (-4%) turned Q2 FY2026 revenue -3.6%, though rising selling prices cushioned it.
9-Year CAGR: Revenue +15.5% · Operating Income +17.2% · Net Income +21.4% · EPS +21.4%
Source: SEC EDGAR 10-K (revenue, operating income, net income, diluted EPS, equity); July year-end closes from Yahoo Finance; cross-checked against stockanalysis. Copart did three 2:1 splits (latest 2022, 2023), so EPS is standardized as NI ÷ diluted shares. P/E is July-end close ÷ diluted EPS and matches stockanalysis for FY2021-2025 (37.89, 28.35, 34.53, 37.38, 28.51). FY2017 and FY2019-2020 net income was somewhat inflated by low tax rates from stock-comp benefits.
Mega-Cap Value Metric Comparison
Copart's 37.8% operating margin and 17.6% ROE dwarf auction peers RB Global (16.7%, 7.6%) and OPENLANE (17.1%, 10.8%). Its 17.4x P/E is far below RB Global's 51.9. Above all, its 0.01x debt-to-equity means it is effectively debt-free while peers carry 0.7-1.5x leverage — a decisive edge in both profitability and balance-sheet strength (Source: stockanalysis, company IR).
Insurance-volume slowdown— Surging premiums have led consumers to hold back on claims, cutting U.S. insurance units -4.2%. This is the core cause of the -44% drawdown and turned Q2 FY2026 revenue to -3.6%. Growth may stay soft until total-loss frequency recovers.Source: company IR, industry reports
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Margin normalization, CEO change— Operating margin fell from a 42% FY2021 peak to the mid-30s as pandemic used-car prices normalized and per-unit prices eased. A leadership change also landed — the 14-year CEO stepped down and a founding-era chairman returned.Source: company IR, industry reports
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Near-term earnings softness in the low P/E— The 17.4x P/E looks cheap at a 10-year low, but part of it reflects a -10% dip in recent-quarter EPS. Earnings could compress further until volume bottoms.Source: company IR, stockanalysis
✦ ValueCrab Dashboard PreviewCPRT $27.94 +2.72% · as of 2026-07-24
Q. What are the key value metrics for Copart (CPRT)?P/E (TTM) 17.4, operating margin 37.8%, ROE 17.6%, debt-to-equity 0.01x (debt-free), no dividend, and a 9-year revenue CAGR of +15.5% (Source: stockanalysis, SEC EDGAR, as of 2026-07-24).
Q. Why is the stock down 44%?As premiums surged, consumers pulled back on claims, cutting the total-loss vehicles coming to auction (U.S. insurance units -4.2%). A CEO change added to it. But the model and moat aren't broken — it's a volume cycle and pandemic-boom normalization, and average selling prices are in fact rising.
Q. Why a top crash-buy candidate?Because the balance sheet is a fortress: D/E 0.01, current ratio 7.61, $4.2B cash. In a crash it can not only survive but go on offense — buying land, repurchasing shares, acquiring rivals. Auction-yard land is near-impossible to permit, so the barrier actually strengthens in a downturn.
Q. Isn't a 17x P/E cheap?It is near a 10-year low for the stock (historically 28-37x). But part of that reflects a recent slowdown in volume and earnings growth, so don't judge on 'cheap' alone. The question is whether volume bottoms and margins stabilize. ValueCrab does not provide buy/sell judgments.