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Carvana Shares Slide After Q4 Profit Metric Misses Despite Strong Sales

Rising reconditioning and depreciation costs squeezed margins, prompting price‑target cuts from major brokers.

Overview

  • Q4 revenue rose 58% to $5.6 billion and retail units reached 163,522, but adjusted EBITDA was $511 million versus about $536–541 million expected.
  • The stock fell roughly 15% to 20% from Wednesday night through early Thursday, with premarket trading near $302 per share.
  • Management blamed higher‑than‑expected inspection, repair, detailing and retail depreciation costs for compressed per‑unit profitability.
  • For Q1 2026, Carvana forecast sequential growth in retail units and adjusted EBITDA without providing numbers, and it flagged elevated reconditioning costs persisting into the quarter.
  • Several brokers, including J.P. Morgan and RBC, trimmed price targets after the miss, while CEO Ernie Garcia III reiterated goals of selling about 3 million cars annually at a 13.5% adjusted EBITDA margin by 2030–2035.