Copart (CPRT) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Drive Past Estimates

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) reported adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents in first-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Oct 31, 2018), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the bottom line was 33 cents.

Net income was $114.1 million, reflecting a surge of 47.2% or $36.6 million from first-quarter fiscal 2018.

Copart’s revenues rose 10.1% to $461.4 million from the year-ago quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $459 million. Compared with the prior-year quarter, service revenues increased to $394.8 million from $374.1 million. Revenues from vehicle sales were $66.6 million in comparison with $45 million in the first-quarter fiscal 2018.

Copart, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Copart, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Copart, Inc. Quote

Gross profit improved 20% to $195.9 million from $163.3 million a year ago. Total operating expenses increased to $310 million from $295.2 million recorded in the prior-year period.

Operating income increased to $151.4 million from $124 million a year ago.

Financial Details

Copart had cash and cash equivalents of $320.3 million as of Oct 31, 2018, compared with $274.5 million as of Jul 31, 2018. Long-term debt, revolving loan facility and capital lease obligations were $398.6 million as of Oct 31, 2018, similar to the figure recorded on Jul 31, 2018.

At the end of three months of fiscal 2019, Copart generated net cash flow of $107.7 million from operations compared with $93.4 million in the year-ago period.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Copart currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space include General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) ), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) and AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) , each carrying Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

General Motors has an expected long-term growth rate of 8.5%. Shares of the company have increased 12% over the past month.

Honda has an expected long-term growth rate of 2.9%. Shares of the company have rallied 2% over the past month.

AutoZone has an expected long-term growth rate of 12.2%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have gained 4.5%.

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