CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) today reported results for the first quarter ended May 31, 2023.

Highlights:

• Net revenues were $7.7 billion, down 17.4% compared with the prior year first quarter.

• Retail used unit sales declined 9.6%, and comparable store used unit sales declined 11.4%, each from the prior year’s first quarter; wholesale units declined 13.6% from the prior year’s first quarter.

• Delivered strong margins in retail and wholesale; gross profit per retail used unit of $2,361 and gross profit per wholesale unit of $1,042, both in line with the prior year’s first quarter.

• SG&A of $559.8 million decreased 14.8% or $96.9 million from last year’s first quarter, driven by the receipt of proceeds related to a favorable legal settlement as well as continued active cost management; excluding the effects of the $59.3 million legal settlement, SG&A decreased 5.7% or $37.6 million.

• Bought 343,000 vehicles from consumers and dealers, down 5.2% versus last year’s first quarter, and sequentially up 31.1% from last year’s fourth quarter.

• CarMax Auto Finance (CAF) income of $137.4 million, down 32.8% from the prior year first quarter due to compression in the net interest margin percentage and a higher provision for loan losses, partially offset by an increase in average managed receivables.

• Net earnings per diluted share of $1.44, down from $1.56 a year ago; the current year’s quarter included a $0.28 benefit in connection with a legal settlement.

CEO Commentary:

“Our deliberate actions are driving improved trends in the business, despite the challenging macro environment. Our unit performance in used, wholesale and consumer and dealer buys all improved sequentially from the year-over-year trends in the second half of fiscal year 2023. We also continued to deliver strong retail and wholesale gross profit per unit along with SG&A reductions,” said Bill Nash, president and chief executive officer. “We are prioritizing projects that drive operating efficiencies and create better experiences for our associates and customers. We believe these steps will enable us to come out of this cycle leaner and more effective, while also positioning us for future growth.”

First Quarter Business Performance Review:

Sales. Combined retail and wholesale used vehicle unit sales were 378,972, a decrease of 11.3% from the prior year’s first quarter. Online retail sales⁽¹⁾ accounted for 14% of retail unit sales, compared with 11% in the first quarter of last year. Revenue from online transactions⁽²⁾, including retail and wholesale unit sales, was $2.4 billion, or approximately 31% of net revenues, consistent with last year’s first quarter.

Total retail used vehicle unit sales declined 9.6% to 217,924 compared to the prior year’s first quarter. Comparable store used unit sales declined 11.4% from the prior year’s first quarter, an improvement from the 22.4% and 14.1% year-over-year declines during last year’s third and fourth quarters. We believe vehicle affordability challenges continued to impact our first quarter unit sales performance, as headwinds remained due to widespread inflationary pressures, higher interest rates, tightening lending standards and prolonged low consumer confidence. Total retail used vehicle revenues decreased 14.4% compared with the prior year’s first quarter, driven by the decrease in retail used units sold as well as a decrease in average retail selling price, which declined approximately $1,600 per unit, or 5.5%.

Total wholesale vehicle unit sales decreased 13.6% to 161,048 versus the prior year’s first quarter, an improvement from the 36.7% and 19.3% year-over-year declines during last year’s third and fourth quarters, as our total buys from consumers and dealers improved sequentially. Total wholesale revenues decreased 28.5% compared with the prior year’s first quarter due to a decrease in the average wholesale selling price of approximately $2,000 per unit or 17.9% and the decrease in wholesale units sold.

We bought 343,000 vehicles from consumers and dealers, down 5.2% versus last year’s first quarter, an improvement from the 39.8% and 22.5% year-over-year declines during last year’s third and fourth quarters. 323,000 of these vehicles were bought from consumers, down 6.5% over last year’s results. The remaining 20,000 of these vehicles were bought through dealers, up 20.1% to last year’s results.

Other sales and revenues declined by 5.2% compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2023, representing a decrease of $9.4 million. The decrease was primarily driven by a $5.3 million decline in extended protection plan (EPP) revenues reflecting the effect of the decline in retail unit sales, partially offset by stronger margins. Third-party finance income also declined $3.1 million as lower Tier 2 volume, for which we generally receive a fee, was partially offset by a reduction in Tier 3 volume, for which we pay a fee.

Gross Profit. Total gross profit was $817.4 million, down 6.6% versus last year’s first quarter. Retail used vehicle gross profit declined 8.7%, reflecting the decline in retail unit sales. Retail gross profit per used unit was $2,361, in line with last year’s first quarter.

Wholesale vehicle gross profit decreased 12.4% versus the prior year’s quarter, reflecting lower wholesale unit volume. Gross profit per unit was consistent with the prior year’s first quarter at $1,042.

Other gross profit increased 12.2% largely reflecting a $26 million year-over-year improvement in service gross profit driven by the efficiency and cost coverage measures that we have put in place. Partially offsetting the service improvement was a decline in EPP profit and third-party finance income, as discussed above.

SG&A. Compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2023, SG&A expenses decreased 14.8% to $559.8 million. The current quarter SG&A included a benefit of $59.3 million, representing our receipt of settlement proceeds in a class action lawsuit related to the economic loss associated with vehicles containing Takata airbags. Excluding this item, SG&A expenses declined 5.7% or $37.6 million. This reduction reflects the continuation of our cost and efficiency efforts related to staffing and marketing. The change in SG&A was also positively impacted by favorability related to non-CAF uncollectible receivables. Partially offsetting these items was an increase in stock-based compensation expense related to changes in the company’s share price. SG&A as a percent of gross profit decreased to 68.5% in the first quarter compared to 75.0% in the prior year’s first quarter. Excluding the legal settlement, SG&A as a percent of gross profit was 75.7%, relatively flat to the prior year’s first quarter.

CarMax Auto Finance.⁽³⁾ CAF income decreased 32.8% to $137.4 million, driven by the decline in CAF’s net interest margin percentage and a $23.1 million year-over-year increase in the provision for loan losses, which outweighed the growth in CAF’s average managed receivables. This quarter’s provision was $80.9 million compared to $57.8 million in the prior year’s first quarter.

As of May 31, 2023, the allowance for loan losses was 3.11% of ending managed receivables, up from 3.02% as of February 28, 2023. The increase in the allowance percentage primarily reflected the effect of unfavorable performance within CAF’s portfolio as well as the uncertain macroeconomic environment. CAF has continued to tighten its underwriting standards in response to the current environment.

CAF’s total interest margin percentage, which represents the spread between interest and fees charged to consumers and our funding costs, was 6.1% of average managed receivables, down from the 10-year peak of 7.5% in the prior year’s first quarter, as increases in our customer rates were offset by the rising cost of funds. Year-over-year performance was also negatively impacted by the mark-to-market effects of our derivative instruments not designated as hedges for accounting purposes. After the effect of 3-day payoffs, CAF financed 42.7% of units sold in the current quarter, up from 39.3% in the prior year’s first quarter. CAF’s weighted average contract rate increased to 11.1% in the quarter up from 10.9% in last year’s fourth quarter and 9.0% in the first quarter last year.

Share Repurchase Activity. During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we did not repurchase any shares of common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program. As of May 31, 2023, we had $2.45 billion remaining available for repurchase under the outstanding authorization. We remain committed to returning capital to shareholders over time and may resume share repurchases in the future at any time depending upon market conditions and our capital needs, among other factors.

Store Openings. During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we opened one new retail location in Winchester, Virginia. In fiscal year 2024, we plan to open a total of five new stores across the country and our first offsite production location in the Atlanta metro market.

Supplemental Financial Information

Amounts and percentage calculations may not total due to rounding.

Sales Components

Unit Sales

Average Selling Prices

Vehicle Sales Changes

Comparable Store Used Vehicle Sales Changes ⁽¹⁾

Used Vehicle Financing Penetration by Channel (Before the Impact of 3-day Payoffs) ⁽¹⁾

Selected Operating Ratios

Gross Profit ⁽¹⁾

Gross Profit per Unit ⁽¹⁾

SG&A Expenses ⁽¹⁾

Components of CAF Income and Other CAF Information

Earnings Highlights

Conference Call Information

We will host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET today, June 23, 2023. Domestic investors may access the call at 1-800-274-8461 (international callers dial 1-203-518-9814). The conference I.D. for both domestic and international callers is 3171396. A live webcast of the call will be available on our investor information home page at investors.carmax.com.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website at investors.carmax.com through September 27, 2023, or via telephone (for approximately one week) by dialing 1-800-688-7036 (or 1-402-220-1346 for international access) and entering the conference ID 3171396.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Earnings Release Date

We currently plan to release results for the second quarter ending August 31, 2023, on Thursday, September 28, 2023, before the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. We plan to host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET on that date. Information on this conference call will be available on our investor information home page at investors.carmax.com in early September 2023.

About CarMax

CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used autos, revolutionized the automotive retail industry by driving integrity, honesty and transparency in every interaction. The company offers a truly personalized experience with the option for customers to do as much, or as little, online and in-store as they want. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2023, CarMax sold approximately 810,000 used vehicles and 590,000 wholesale vehicles at its auctions. In addition, CarMax Auto Finance originated nearly $9 billion in receivables during fiscal 2023, adding to its nearly $17 billion portfolio. CarMax has over 240 stores, more than 30,000 associates, and is proud to have been recognized for 19 consecutive years as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®. CarMax is committed to making a positive impact on people, communities and the environment. Learn more in the 2023 Responsibility Report. For more information, visit www.carmax.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

We caution readers that the statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our future business plans, operations, challenges, opportunities or prospects, including without limitation any statements or factors regarding expected operating capacity, sales, inventory, market share, financial targets, revenue, margins, expenses, liquidity, loan originations, capital expenditures, debt obligations or earnings, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “outlook,” “plan,” “positioned,” “predict,” “should,” “target,” “will” and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. Such forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current knowledge, expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. Among the factors that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements are the following:

• Changes in the competitive landscape and/or our failure to successfully adjust to such changes.
• Changes in general or regional U.S. economic conditions, including inflationary pressures, climbing interest rates and the potential impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Changes in the availability or cost of capital and working capital financing, including changes related to the asset-backed securitization market.
• Events that damage our reputation or harm the perception of the quality of our brand.
• Significant changes in prices of new and used vehicles.
• A reduction in the availability of or access to sources of inventory or a failure to expeditiously liquidate inventory.
• Our inability to realize the benefits associated with our omni-channel initiatives and strategic investments.
• Factors related to geographic and sales growth, including the inability to effectively manage our growth.
• Our inability to recruit, develop and retain associates and maintain positive associate relations.
• The loss of key associates from our store, regional or corporate management teams or a significant increase in labor costs.
• Changes in economic conditions or other factors that result in greater credit losses for CAF’s portfolio of auto loans receivable than anticipated.
• The failure or inability to realize the benefits associated with our strategic transactions.
• The effect and consequences of the Coronavirus public health crisis on matters including U.S. and local economies; our business operations and continuity; the availability of corporate and consumer financing; the health and productivity of our associates; the ability of third-party providers to continue uninterrupted service; and the regulatory environment in which we operate.
• Changes in consumer credit availability provided by our third-party finance providers.
• Changes in the availability of extended protection plan products from third-party providers.
• The performance of the third-party vendors we rely on for key components of our business.
• Adverse conditions affecting one or more automotive manufacturers, and manufacturer recalls.
• The inaccuracy of estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our financial statements, or the effect of new accounting requirements or changes to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
• The failure or inability to adequately protect our intellectual property.
• The occurrence of severe weather events.
• Factors related to the geographic concentration of our stores.
• Security breaches or other events that result in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer, associate or corporate information.
• The failure of or inability to sufficiently enhance key information systems.
• Factors related to the regulatory and legislative environment in which we operate.
• The effect of various litigation matters.
• The volatility in the market price for our common stock.

For more details on factors that could affect expectations, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2023, and our quarterly or current reports as filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Our filings are publicly available on our investor information home page at investors.carmax.com. Requests for information may also be made to the Investor Relations Department by email to investor_relations@carmax.com or by calling (804) 747-0422 x7865. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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