CarMax Grows On Store Expansion, Rising SG&A Expenses A Woe

On Jan 15, we issued an updated research report on CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) .

On Dec 21, CarMax reported earnings per share of 81 cents for third-quarter fiscal 2018 (ended Nov 30, 2017), missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by one cent. During the quarter, its net sales and operating revenues rose 11% year over year to $4.11 billion. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4 billion.

The company has been expanding its footprint through aggressive store launch initiatives. During the third quarter, it opened five stores, one each in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle. The fifth outlet was opened in Tyler, TX, which is a new television market. These store openings, leading to a rise in customer footfall, help the company drive its revenue growth.

CarMax Inc Price and Consensus

CarMax also engages in frequent share repurchase programs to enhance shareholder value. During third-quarter fiscal 2018, the company spent $107.2 million to repurchase 1.5 million shares. Also, at the end of the reported quarter, the company had worth $1.14 billion of authorization left under its current share repurchase program.

Moreover, the stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 earnings being revised 2.2% upward over the last 30 days.

However, due to regular store unveilings, CarMax’s SG&A expenses have escalated 12% to $399.7 million during the quarter. Other factors contributing to this expenditure rise include higher stock-based compensation and incentive pay accruals. Also, higher expenses are hampering the company’s gross margin figure.

Additionally, CarMax is open to instability in used car prices, which might hurt its revenue generation.

Price Performance

Shares of CarMax have gained 8.8% over a year, outperforming the 8.3% decline of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CarMax has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Wabco Holdings Inc. (NYSE:WBC) , Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) and Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) , all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wabco has an expected long-term growth rate of 15%. Over a month, shares of the company have climbed 9.1%.

Lear has an expected long-term growth rate of 7.1%. In the last three months, shares of the company have gained 9.3%.

Oshkosh has an expected long-term growth rate of 16.5%. Shares of the company have surged 34.9% in the last six months.

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