Carvana Co. · CVNA · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026

Carvana Q1 2026: Record Revenue and Units as Reconditioning Tools Begin to Scale

Carvana extended its record-breaking run into FY2026 Q1, posting all-time highs in units sold (187k), revenue ($6.43B), GAAP operating income ($581M), and adjusted EBITDA ($672M), representing 40% year-over-year growth. The company beat consensus EPS by 7.4% and revenue by 5.1%. Management's focus has shifted from broad growth to operational leverage: new reconditioning tools and centralized planning are delivering measurable labor productivity gains, while ADESA integration is replacing greenfield expansion as the primary capacity strategy. The maintained 13.5% adjusted EBITDA margin target and 3-million-unit annual goal by 2030-35 remain the lodestar, but the near-term question is whether rising advertising spend per unit and AI/technology capex will compress margins before efficiency gains fully materialize. The stock's -1.2% abnormal move on the print and -7.8% subsequent drift…

Reported After market closeNYSEConsumer Cyclical $72.46B market cap
100quality score

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Carvana Co., along with its subsidiaries, operates a digital platform facilitating the purchase and sale of pre-owned vehicles across the United States. Their comprehensive services span the entire customer journey, including sourcing and reconditioning automobiles, providing an intuitive online browsing and transaction experience, offering financing solutions, and supplying complementary products. The company also manages its own specialized logistics network for distinctive delivery and pickup options, alongside providing extensive post-sale support. Furthermore, Carvana operates various vehicle auction sites. This company was established in 2012 and maintains its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $0.34 Consensus $0
EPS surprise +7.4% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $6.43B Consensus $6.12B
Revenue surprise +5.1% Reported versus consensus

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
CVNA REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 8 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q4 '23 estimate $3B Q4 '23 actual $2B, miss Q1 '24 estimate $3B Q1 '24 actual $3B, beat Q2 '24 estimate $3B Q2 '24 actual $3B, beat Q3 '24 estimate $3B Q3 '24 actual $4B, beat Q2 '25 estimate $5B Q2 '25 actual $5B, beat Q3 '25 estimate $5B Q3 '25 actual $6B, beat Q4 '25 estimate $5B Q4 '25 actual $6B, beat Q1 '26 estimate $6B Q1 '26 actual $6B, beat Q2 '26 estimate $7B Q3 '26 estimate $7B Q4 '26 estimate $7B Q1 '27 estimate $8B

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold44 ratings
Bullish2147.7%
Neutral2045.5%
Bearish36.8%

1 unmapped firm rating excluded from the percentages.

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$67.99Current
$5.5Low
$284.45Average
$550High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 29, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Barclays Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 22, 2026
Wells Fargo Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 21, 2026
Jefferies Buy BuyMaintainJul 14, 2026
RBC Capital Outperform OutperformMaintainJun 11, 2026
BTIG Buy BuyMaintainJun 5, 2026
Evercore ISI Group In Line In LineMaintainJun 2, 2026
DA Davidson Neutral NeutralMaintainMay 1, 2026
Citizens Market Outperform Market OutperformMaintainMay 1, 2026
Show 37 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $67.99. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
BarclaysJohn Babcock$94$64.26 +38.3%Jul 21, 2026
Wells FargoDavid Lantz$85$64.18 +25.0%Jul 21, 2026
Morgan StanleyAdam Jonas$102$64.18 +50.0%Jul 20, 2026
NeedhamChris Pierce$120$67.72 +76.5%Jun 5, 2026
Robert W. BairdCraig Kennison$88$69.53 +29.4%May 15, 2026
BarclaysJohn Babcock$93$69.9 +36.8%May 14, 2026
BTIGMarvin Fong$97$77.94 +42.7%May 10, 2026
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$537$385.74 +689.8%Apr 30, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$430$380.88 +532.4%Apr 30, 2026
NeedhamChris Pierce$600$396.73 +782.5%Apr 30, 2026
See 103 more

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Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move -0.2% Event window
SPY move +1.0% Same window
Abnormal move -1.2% Stock minus SPY
Volume 2.3× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift -7.8% Up to 20 sessions
CVNASPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Q1 2026 set new company records: 187,000 units sold, $6.43B revenue, $581M GAAP operating income, and $672M adjusted EBITDA, up 40% year-over-year. EPS of $0.34 beat the $0.32 consensus by 7.4%; revenue of $6.43B beat the $6.12B estimate by 5.1%. New reconditioning tools and centralized planning systems were introduced to boost labor efficiency across facilities. Strategic shift from greenfield site development to ADESA integration and selective build-outs for capacity expansion. Advertising expense per unit is rising as Carvana invests in brand awareness during an early-stage e-commerce auto adoption phase. Stellantis dealership acquisitions were mentioned, signaling potential inorganic growth vectors.

Guidance delta

Guidance was maintained. Management reiterated its medium-term targets of 13.5% adjusted EBITDA margin and 3 million units annually by 2030-35, consistent with the prior quarter's outlook. No upward revision despite the record quarter, suggesting management prefers to under-promise on near-term margin trajectory while reinvesting in advertising and technology.

Key takeaways

  • Q1 set new records for units sold (187k), revenue ($6.43B), and operating profitability, extending the momentum from FY2025's 43% unit growth.
  • Reconditioning tools and centralized planning are delivering measurable labor productivity gains, addressing the scaling challenge flagged in Q4 2025.
  • Record GAAP operating income of $581M and adjusted EBITDA of $672M demonstrate improving operating leverage.
  • Capex will focus on expanding existing ADESA facilities and selective build-outs, with greenfield projects de-prioritized for a more capital-efficient growth path.
  • Advertising spend per unit is rising to build awareness, reflecting management's view that the market is still early in e-commerce auto adoption.
  • The company remains on track for its 13.5% adjusted EBITDA margin and 3-million-unit annual targets by 2030-35.

Management priorities

  • Roll out new reconditioning and manager tools to all facilities over the coming months.
  • Expand production capacity through ADESA integrations and selective facility build-outs.
  • Increase advertising spend to deepen awareness, understanding, and trust.
  • Invest in AI and technology to support operational scalability.
  • Maintain focus on achieving 13.5% adjusted EBITDA margin and scaling to 3 million units per year.

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-29T13:43:24.875548+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-29T13:43:24.872435+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.