CPRT

Business Profile & Competitive Position

Copart, Inc. (CPRT) is classified in the Industrials sector under the Specialty Business Services industry. That places it in a B2B or B2C service layer rather than in heavy manufacturing or transportation infrastructure. The profit metrics back up the idea that this is a high-selectivity operation rather than a commoditized service provider: Copart reports a 33.5% net margin and a 16.6% return on equity. A net margin of 33.5% means the company keeps roughly one-third of every revenue dollar after all costs, including taxes, while the 16.6% ROE shows that shareholder equity is being employed efficiently enough to generate a mid-teens annual return.

Those numbers also fit a network-style or platform-style business model where scale, transaction velocity, and service pricing matter more than raw commodity margins. The signal is reinforced by the stock’s 1.01 beta: it has historically moved almost one-for-one with the broad market, which is consistent with a recurring-service company rather than a highly cyclical industrial.

Financial Posture

Copart currently carries a $27.2 billion market capitalization and trades at $29.43 per share, which translates to a 18.2 trailing P/E ratio. That multiple sits below peak growth-stock territory but above many capital-heavy industrial names, a positioning that lines up with a 33.5% net margin.

The 16.6% ROE adds another layer of quality: shareholders are earning a double-digit return without the business relying on heavy leverage. A beta of 1.01 implies the stock is not systematically more volatile than the overall market. From a technical perspective, CPRT’s RSI is 52.0, a neutral reading, and the price is slightly below its 50-day EMA of $29.75. That combination suggests the stock is neither extended nor washed out at current levels.

Macro & Geopolitical Exposure

Because CPRT operates within Specialty Business Services, its macro exposures flow through the vehicles and transactions handled on its platform rather than through direct manufacturing output. Key drivers include vehicle supply, used-car prices, insurance-claim frequency, and freight/logistics costs. When salvage volumes rise or fall, service revenue generally moves with them.

Trade policy is also relevant. Tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminum can change repair-versus-total-loss economics and the underlying value of damaged vehicles. Interest rates and consumer credit conditions influence end-buyer demand at auction, while currency fluctuations matter for any international operations not denominated in U.S. dollars. Finally, state and federal regulation around vehicle titling, salvage certificates, and environmental disposal requirements can affect compliance costs and the profitability of total-loss vehicles.

Recent Developments

The most recent headline is an insider transaction. On 2026-08-07, fool.com reported that Copart CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares for approximately $846,000. Insider sales by themselves are not a directional forecast, but they do add a near-term sentiment data point.

Institutional activity has been mixed. On 2026-08-03, defenseworld.net reported that Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in CPRT. Days earlier, on 2026-07-31, seekingalpha.com covered Madison Mid Cap Fund’s Q2 2026 portfolio activity, which included activity around Copart. Against that backdrop, zacks.com reported on 2026-08-05 that Copart suffered a larger drop than the general market, highlighting a period of relative near-term weakness. Taken together, these headlines show both accumulation and selling pressure rather than a single clean trend.

Earnings Behavior & Post-Earnings Drift

Over the last eight reported quarters, Copart has beaten the consensus estimate five times, a 71% beat rate, with an average earnings surprise of 2%. Despite that solid track record, the average 5-day price move after earnings across those quarters is -3.29%, classified as a downward drift.

The last four reports make that disconnect especially clear. On 2026-05-21, CPRT earned $0.43 versus the $0.4063 estimate, a 5.8% beat, yet the stock fell 1.77% the next day and 4.74% over the following five sessions. On 2025-11-20, a 5.2% beat ($0.41 vs $0.3897) produced a -0.71% next-day move and a -4.97% five-day drift. The 2025-09-04 report delivered a 13.5% beat ($0.41 vs $0.3613), and the stock still dropped 2.80% the next day and 2.14% over the following five days. Even the February 2026 miss, $0.36 vs $0.3925 (-8.3% surprise), followed the same broader path: down 3.11% the next day and down 1.33% over five days.

This pattern suggests that the market’s real expectation may be higher than the published consensus, or that strong quarters are being offset by concerns over guidance, mix, or valuation compression. With the next report scheduled for 2026-09-03 after the close and the consensus EPS estimate at $0.3869, the historical beat rate of 71% should be paired with the historical average post-earnings drift of -3.29% rather than viewed in isolation.

For a deeper dive, review the full institutional verdict on CPRT, which aggregates analyst ratings, price targets, and earnings revisions beyond the snapshot above.