Carvana vs Carmax (CVNA vs KMX)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Carmax is the larger company by revenue ($25.9B vs $20.3B). Carvana carries the larger market value ($70.8B vs $7.8B). Carvana has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+58.6% cumulative vs -18.9%). Carmax trades at the lower trailing P/E (24.2x vs 33.8x).
About Carvana
Carvana Co. operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars across the United States. The company offers a wide selection of inspected and reconditioned vehicles through its website, providing customers with online tools for browsing, financing, and vehicle protection products. Carvana also manages a nationwide logistics network for vehicle delivery and pickup, including branded home delivery and car vending machines.
About Carmax
CarMax Inc operates as the largest retailer of used vehicles in the United States, selling a wide range of quality used cars at fixed prices through both physical stores and online platforms. The company also runs wholesale vehicle auctions and provides auto financing services to customers purchasing vehicles from CarMax. Its services include vehicle sales, trade-in appraisals, financing options, extended protection plans, and vehicle repair services, serving retail customers and licensed dealers nationwide.
Head to head (CVNA FY2025 vs KMX FY2026)
| Metric | CVNAFY2025 | KMXFY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $20.32B | $25.88B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 48.6% | -1.8% |
| Gross margin | 20.6% | 10.8% |
| Operating margin | 9.3% | — |
| Net margin | 6.9% | 1.0% |
| Net income | $1.41B | $247.3M |
| Diluted EPS | $8.45 | $1.68 |
| FCF margin | 4.4% | 4.8% |
| ROE | 33.5% | 4.2% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.15× | 2.93× |
| Market cap | $70.81B | $7.82B |
| P/E | 33.8× | 24.2× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (CVNA FY2025, KMX FY2026). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| CVNA by fiscal year | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.81B | $13.60B | $10.77B | $13.67B | $20.32B |
| Net income | $-135.0M | $-1.59B | $450.0M | $210.0M | $1.41B |
| Operating margin | — | -17.3% | -0.7% | 7.2% | 9.3% |
| KMX by fiscal year | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $31.90B | $29.68B | $26.54B | $26.35B | $25.88B |
| Net income | $1.15B | $484.8M | $479.2M | $500.6M | $247.3M |
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | — |
Carvana and Carmax use different fiscal calendars (CVNA's FY2025 ended 2025-12-31, KMX's FY2026 ended 2026-02-28), so their fiscal years are shown separately rather than forced into one timeline.
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 403 Consumer Discretionary companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | CVNA | KMX |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 20.6%25th percentile of 274 | 10.8%7th percentile of 274 |
| Net margin | 6.9%72nd percentile of 376 | 1.0%39th percentile of 376 |
| FCF margin | 4.4%53rd percentile of 350 | 4.8%56th percentile of 350 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +48.6%96th percentile of 394 | -1.8%32nd percentile of 394 |
| ROE | 33.5%87th percentile of 343 | 4.2%42nd percentile of 343 |
| P/E | 33.8×85th percentile of 247 | 24.2×74th percentile of 247 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.15×73rd percentile of 235 | 2.93×90th percentile of 235 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 10.23d92nd percentile of 401 | 6.33d70th percentile of 401 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | CVNA | KMX |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 62.2M | 9.8M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -5.6% | -12.3% |
| Days to cover | 10.23 | 6.33 |
| As of settlement | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-15 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | CVNA | KMX |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 2 ($1.5M) | 0 |
| Sells | 32 ($24.9M) | 0 |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
6 tracked 13F managers hold both Carvana and Carmax as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Citadel Advisors, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management, Renaissance Technologies, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.