Copart Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Copart (NAS: CPRT) reported earnings on May 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 30 (Q3), Copart missed estimates on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Copart booked revenue of $244.1 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw sales of $257.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $236.8 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.43. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.43 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q3 were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 50.6%, 460 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 36.0%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.7%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $231.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.35.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $940.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,327 members out of 1,366 rating the stock outperform, and 39 members rating it underperform. Among 423 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 414 give Copart a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Copart is hold, with an average price target of $26.07.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Copart. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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