Report
Valens Research

KMX - Embedded Expectations Analysis - 2020 05 12

CarMax, Inc. (KMX:USA) currently trades near historical highs relative to UAFRS-based (Uniform) earnings, with a 42.2x Uniform P/E. At these levels, the market has bullish expectations for the firm, but management may be concerned about the impact of COVID-19, market share growth, and their omnichannel selling strategy

Specifically, management may have concerns about the further spread of COVID-19 in their communities, year-over-year sales declines, and their omnichannel strategy. Furthermore, they may lack confidence in their ability to grow comp market share, quickly move sales to an online platform, and ramp up their curbside pickup capabilities. Moreover, they may be overstating the competitive advantages of their footprint and logistics network, the ease of appointment-only operations, and the potential upside of their Customer Experience Centers (CEC)
Underlying
CarMax Inc.

CarMax is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged as a retailer of used vehicles. The company operates in two segments: CarMax Sales Operations, which sells used vehicles, purchases used vehicles from customers and other sources, sells related products and services, and arranges financing options for customers; and CarMax Auto Finance, which consists of finance operation that provides vehicle financing to customer buying retail vehicles from the company The company's products and services include retail merchandising, wholesale auctions, extended protection plans, reconditioning and service, and customer credit.

Provider
Valens Research
Valens Research

In 2009, just as the dust was settling from the last major equity and credit market crises, we launched a boutique research firm with the intention of breaking Wall Street’s biases and broken incentives:

  • GAAP and IFRS have failed to provide rules for reliable financial statement reporting
  • Stock analyst recommendations are not grounded in disciplined financial analysis
  • Credit agencies have been set up to grossly fail in their responsibilities to investors and the public markets
  • Utter lack of willingness of major research firms to employ the the most advanced forensic analysis available

We sought to provide investors and company analysts with a source of information that changed all that.
Many years later, our business model remains because little has changed on Wall Street.

  • Corporate credit ratings remain years behind the fundamental underpinnings of company performance
  • Stock analysts continue to make recommendations with deeply inherent biases
  • Research firms have failed to break down the walls between credit, equity, and macroeconomic research
  • The governing accounting bodies have created more leeway for mis-estimates and mis-classifications as financials have become unwieldy and overwhelming

The integrity of Valens Research is founded in our disciplined processes and analytics. No “star” analysts. No corporate advisory relationships. No-nonsense opinions and recommendations.

Analysts
Valens Research

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Valens Research

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch