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.
10-Year Growth
Revenue$4.7B · CAGR +15.5%
Operating Income$1.7B · CAGR +17.1%
EPS$1.59 · CAGR +21.3%
10-Year Valuation
P/E (year-end)28.5x · avg 30.5x
ROE16.9% · avg 26.4%
Operating Margin36.5% · avg 36.2%
📊 Annual Data Table (CPRT) — expand/collapse
Year
Revenue (B$)
Op. Income (B$)
EPS ($)
P/E (x)
ROE (%)
Op. Margin (%)
2016
1.27
0.41
0.28
22.8
34.9
32
2017
1.45
0.46
0.42
18.9
35.9
31.9
2018
1.81
0.58
0.43
33.2
26.4
32.4
2019
2.04
0.72
0.62
31.5
33.3
35.1
2020
2.21
0.82
0.73
31.8
28.1
37
2021
2.69
1.14
0.97
37.7
26.5
42.2
2022
3.5
1.38
1.13
28.3
23.6
39.3
2023
3.87
1.49
1.28
34.5
20.7
38.4
2024
4.24
1.57
1.4
37.4
18.1
37.1
2025
4.65
1.7
1.59
28.5
16.9
36.5
— = no data for that year/metric (P/E omitted before EPS turned positive)
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
●
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
●
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.