Used-car retailer America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales falling 11.6% year on year to $286.8 million. Its non-GAAP loss of $7.72 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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America's Car-Mart (CRMT) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $286.8 million vs analyst estimates of $329.3 million (11.6% year-on-year decline, 12.9% miss)
- Adjusted EPS: -$7.72 vs analyst estimates of -$0.26 (significant miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: -$10.75 million vs analyst estimates of $18.04 million (-3.7% margin, significant miss)
- Operating Margin: -4.5%, down from 6.6% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow was -$6.20 million compared to -$31.53 million in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 149 at quarter end, down from 154 in the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales fell 13.4% year on year (3.1% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $158 million
Company Overview
With a strong presence in the Southern and Central US, America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) sells used cars to budget-conscious consumers.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul.
With $1.34 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, America's Car-Mart is a small retailer, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from economies of scale and negotiating leverage with suppliers.
As you can see below, America's Car-Mart struggled to increase demand as its $1.34 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue three years ago. This was mainly because it didn’t open many new stores and observed lower sales at existing, established locations.
This quarter, America's Car-Mart missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 11.6% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $286.8 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.9% over the next 12 months, an acceleration versus the last three years. This projection is noteworthy and suggests its newer products will spur better top-line performance.
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Store Performance
Number of Stores
A retailer’s store count influences how much it can sell and how quickly revenue can grow.
America's Car-Mart operated 149 locations in the latest quarter, and over the last two years, has kept its store count flat while other consumer retail businesses have opted for growth.
When a retailer keeps its store footprint steady, it usually means demand is stable and it’s focusing on operational efficiency to increase profitability.
Same-Store Sales
The change in a company's store base only tells one side of the story. The other is the performance of its existing locations and e-commerce sales, which informs management teams whether they should expand or downsize their physical footprints. Same-store sales provides a deeper understanding of this issue because it measures organic growth at brick-and-mortar shops for at least a year.
America's Car-Mart’s demand has been shrinking over the last two years as its same-store sales have averaged 5.1% annual declines. This performance isn’t ideal, and we’d be concerned if America's Car-Mart starts opening new stores to artificially boost revenue growth.
In the latest quarter, America's Car-Mart’s same-store sales fell by 13.4% year on year. This decrease represents a further deceleration from its historical levels. We hope the business can get back on track.
Key Takeaways from America's Car-Mart’s Q4 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its revenue missed and its EBITDA fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded down 6.9% to $17.74 immediately after reporting.
The latest quarter from America's Car-Mart’s wasn’t that good. One earnings report doesn’t define a company’s quality, though, so let’s explore whether the stock is a buy at the current price. When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
