Used-car retailer America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales falling 17.9% year on year to $302.8 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.48 per share was above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy America's Car-Mart? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
America's Car-Mart (CRMT) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $302.8 million vs analyst estimates of $340 million (17.9% year-on-year decline, 10.9% miss)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.48 vs analyst estimates of -$0.59 (beat)
- Operating Margin: -1.2%, down from 8.1% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 22.3%, up from 5% in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 128 at quarter end, down from 154 in the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales fell 6.1% year on year (-3.9% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $25.07 million
Company Overview
With a strong presence in the Southern and Central US, America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) sells used cars to budget-conscious consumers.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years.
With $1.28 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, America's Car-Mart is a small retailer, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from economies of scale and negotiating leverage with suppliers.
As you can see below, America's Car-Mart’s demand was weak over the last three years. Its sales fell by 2.9% annually as it closed stores and observed lower sales at existing, established locations.
This quarter, America's Car-Mart missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 17.9% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $302.8 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 9.2% over the next 12 months, an acceleration versus the last three years. This projection is commendable and indicates its newer products will fuel better top-line performance.
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Store Performance
Number of Stores
A retailer’s store count influences how much it can sell and how quickly revenue can grow.
America's Car-Mart operated 128 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, the company has generally closed its stores, averaging 2.6% annual declines.
When a retailer shutters stores, it usually means that brick-and-mortar demand is less than supply, and it is responding by closing underperforming locations to improve profitability.
Same-Store Sales
A company’s store base only paints one part of the picture. When demand is high, it makes sense to open more. But when demand is low, it’s prudent to close some locations and use the money in other ways. Same-store sales provides a deeper understanding of this issue because it measures organic growth at brick-and-mortar shops for at least a year.
America's Car-Mart’s demand has been shrinking over the last two years as its same-store sales have averaged 5.2% annual declines. This performance isn’t ideal, and America's Car-Mart is attempting to boost same-store sales by closing stores (fewer locations sometimes lead to higher same-store sales).
In the latest quarter, America's Car-Mart’s same-store sales fell by 6.1% year on year. This performance was more or less in line with its historical levels.
Key Takeaways from America's Car-Mart’s Q1 Results
It was good to see America's Car-Mart beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its revenue missed. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded up 9.2% to $3.30 immediately after reporting.
Big picture, is America's Car-Mart a buy here and now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
