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If You Invested $1000 in Copart, Inc. a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Copart, Inc. (CPRT - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to CPRT for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Copart, Inc.'s Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Copart, Inc.'s main business drivers.

Based in Dallas, TX, Copart, Inc. was founded in 1982. The company provides online auction and a wide range of remarketing services to process and sell salvage and clean title vehicles. This is done mainly over the Internet, through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation (VB3) Internet auction-style sales technology. Sellers are primarily insurance companies, banks and financial institutions, charities, car dealerships, fleet operators, and vehicle rental companies. Buyers include licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers and exporters, along with the general public.

Copart’s services include online supplier access, salvage estimation services, end-of-life vehicle processing, virtual insured exchange, transportation services, vehicle inspection stations, on-demand reporting, DMV processing and flexible vehicle processing programs, among others.

The company primarily has two revenue streams: service revenue and purchased vehicles. Copart derives service revenues from vehicle sales when it acts as an intermediary. In such cases, the firm doesn't take ownership of the vehicle. It makes money through fees when it is auctioned through its website. Purchased vehicles revenues come from sales when Copart has acquired the ownership of the vehicle and sells it at a higher price, pocketing the difference.

In the United States, Canada, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Finland, the U.A.E., Oman, Bahrain, and Spain, Copart sells vehicles primarily as an agent and earns revenue from auction related sales transaction fees paid by vehicle suppliers and vehicle buyers, as well as the associated fees for services following the auction, such as towing and storage. In the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, it operates both as an agent as well as on a principal basis. It also serves as an agent in the United Kingdom. In Germany and Spain, Copart also generates revenue from sales listing fees for listing vehicles on behalf of insurance companies.

With operations at over 200 locations in 11 countries, Copart has more than 250,000 vehicles available online every day. The company currently operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain, and Spain.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Copart, Inc. ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in July 2013 would be worth $11,196.05, or a 1,019.60% gain, as of July 13, 2023, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 166.17% and the price of gold increased 46.52% over the same time frame in comparison.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for CPRT.

Copart enjoys a leadership position in the automotive auction market, commanding roughly 40% of the market share. The company’s competitiveness is supported by its multiple locations and size of its new facilities openings. Expansion initiatives along with digital ramp up will aid Copart in a fast pickup across the country. Launch of Copart Max has further stepped up its digital game. Salvage auction volumes are likely to remain elevated amid increase in vehicle miles travelled and higher collision frequency. Additionally, aging vehicles and technologically-advanced auto parts are also proving to be a boon for the industry participants. Strong balance sheet with low leverage and high liquidity provides the firm with financial flexibility. These tailwinds account for our bullish stance on the stock.

The stock has jumped 5% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 5 higher, for fiscal 2023; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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