How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and 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) 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 of salvage and clean-title vehicles. It also offers a wide range of remarketing services. 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, financial institutions, charities, car dealerships, fleet operators, and vehicle rental companies. Buyers include licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers and exporters, as well as the general public.

Copart’s services include online supplier access, salvage estimation services, end-of-life vehicle processing, transportation services, vehicle inspection stations, on-demand reporting, title processing and procurement, among others.

The company primarily has two revenue streams: service revenues and purchased vehicles. Service revenues come from Copart acting as an intermediary in vehicle sales. In these cases, Copart does not own the vehicles; instead, it facilitates the auction process through its platform. The company earns money by charging fees for the services provided during the auction. Purchased vehicle revenues are generated when Copart buys vehicles outright, takes ownership, and then sells them at a higher price. The profit comes from the difference between the purchase price and the marked-up selling price.

In fiscal year 2024, service revenues constituted 82.7% of the company's total revenue, while vehicle sales accounted for the remaining 17.3%.

With operations at more than 250 locations in 11 countries, Copart has more than 265,000 vehicles available online every day. In the United States, Canada, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Finland, the U.A.E., Oman and Bahrain, Copart sells vehicles primarily as an agent and earns revenues from auction-related sales transaction fees paid by vehicle suppliers and buyers, as well as the associated fees for services following the auction, such as delivery and storage. In the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, it operates both as agent and principal. In Germany and Spain, Copart also generates revenues from sales listing fees for listing vehicles on behalf of insurance companies and insurance experts.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Copart, Inc. ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in December 2014 would be worth $13,625.68, or a 1,262.57% gain, as of December 12, 2024, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 198.93% and the price of gold went up 113.75% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for CPRT.

Copart enjoys a leadership position in the automotive auction market, commanding roughly 40% of the market share. Thanks to its large scale, solid market leadership and continued expansion efforts, the company’s revenues look poised for an upward trajectory. The acquisition of Purple Wave is also a positive development. However, Copart has been doubling down on storage-capacity expansion and will continue to prioritize expansion efforts, which are likely to clip cash flows. Operating costs have been rising for several quarters amid increasing G&A expenditure. The G&A expense may continue to increase as the company continues to invest in its sales marketing product and technology functions, hurting its near-term margins. The stock warrants a cautious stance for the time being.

The stock is up 8.08% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 3 higher, for fiscal 2025. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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