Copart Shares Catapulted: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of auto auctioneer Copart (NAS: CPRT) have catapulted today, with gains as high as 12%, after the company reported second-quarter results yesterday.

So what: Revenue in the quarter added up to $227.9 million, paving the path to earnings per share of $0.62. Both amounts easily bested the market's expectations, which called for $218.5 million up top and a $0.59 per-share profit.

Now what: During the quarter, Copart took an impairment of $8.8 million related to writedowns on certain assets like real estate, computers, and its fleet of private aircraft, which have been removed from operations. The company has a new headquarters in Dallas, and will transition to commercial airline services and dispose of its fleet. Copart also bought back almost 2 million shares of stock at a weighted average of $46.34.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuholds no position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Copart.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended shorting Copart. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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