CPRT Stock Study (10-19-26)

Posted by Mark on October 29, 2026 at 07:32 | Last modified: October 19, 2026 11:50

I recently did a stock study on Copart, Inc. (CPRT, $27.87). Previous studies are here and here.

M* writes:

     > Based in Dallas, Copart operates an online salvage vehicle auction
     > with operations in 11 countries across North America, Europe, and the
     > Middle East, facilitating over 4 million transactions annually. The
     > company utilizes its virtual bidding platform, VB3, to connect vehicle
     > sellers with over 1 million registered buyers around the world. Buyers
     > primarily consist of vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, individuals
     > and used vehicle retailers. About 80% of Copart’s vehicle volume is
     > supplied by auto insurance companies holding vehicles deemed a
     > total loss. Copart also offers services such as vehicle transportation,
     > storage, title transfer, and salvage value estimation. The company
     > primarily operates on a consignment basis and collects fees based
     > on the vehicle’s final selling price.

Over the past decade, this medium-size company has grown sales and EPS at annualized rates of 14.8% and 17.7%, respectively (FY ends Jul 31). Lines are mostly up, straight, and parallel except for EPS dip in ’26. Value Line (VL) gives an Earnings Predictability score of 95. Shares outstanding increase 14.1% (1.5% per year).

Over the past decade, PTPM leads peer and industry averages while increasing from 30.4 to 39.3% (’26) with a last-5-year mean of 39.8%. ROE leads peer and industry averages despite falling from 38.0% to 16.3% (’26) with a last-5-year mean of 19.8% (shareholder equity consistently positive and increasing 26.5%/year on average). Debt-to-Capital is less than peer and industry averages with a last-5-year mean of 1.6%.

Quick ratio is 7.5 and interest coverage N/A per M* who assigns “Wide” Economic Moat, “Standard” Capital Allocation, and an A grade for Financial Health (per BI website). VL gives a B++ rating for Financial Strength and reports no long-term debt.

RightStock—a new tool on the BI website that I am tracking for informational purposes—gives a fitness score of 83 (“strong”) and opportunity score of 80 (“strong”).

With regard to sales growth:

• YF gives YOY ACE 3.8% and 5.2% for ’27 and ’28, respectively (based on 7 analysts).
• Zacks gives YOY ACE 6.7% and 9.5% for ’27 and ’28, respectively (4 analysts).
• VL projects 4.7% per year from ’26-’30.
• CFRA projects 16.5% YOY and 13.5% per year for ’27 and ’26-’28, respectively.
• M* gives 2-year annualized ACE of 11.2% and projects 10.1% per year from ’26-’31 in Equity Report.

My 3.0% forecast is below the range.

With regard to EPS growth:

• MarketWatch gives ACE 5.8% and 6.5% per year for ’26-’28 and ’26-’29 (based on 14 analysts).
• Nasdaq.com gives ACE 3.3% and 3.9% per year for ’27-’29 and ’27-’30 [5 / 1 / 1 analyst(s) for ’27 / ’29 / ’30].
• Seeking Alpha projects 4-year annualized growth of 11.6%.
• Finviz gives 5-year annualized ACE of 7.1% (4).
• Argus projects 5-year annualized growth of 10.0%.
• LSEG has LTG at 3.4%.
• YF gives YOY ACE of 4.6% and 7.9% for ’27 and ’28, respectively (8).
• Zacks gives YOY ACE 5.1% and 9.8% for ’27 and ’28 along with 5-year annualized 12.5% (5).
• VL projects 5.9% per year from ’26-’30.
• CFRA projects 9.7% YOY and 9.2% per year for ’27 and ’26-’28, respectively.
• M* gives long-term annualized ACE of 6.1% and projects the same through ’31 in Equity Report.

My 3.0% forecast is below the long-term-estimate range (mean of eight: 7.8%). Initial value is ’26 EPS of $1.55/share.

My Forecast High P/E is 29.0. Over the past 10 years, high P/E increases from 19.4 to 32.3 (’26) with last-5-year mean of 37.4 and a last-5-year-mean average P/E of 30.6. I am below the range.

My Forecast Low P/E is 14.0. Over the past 10 years, low P/E increases from 14.9 to 17.3 (’26) with a last-5-year mean of 23.8. I am forecasting below the range.

My Low Stock Price Forecast (LSPF) of $21.70 is default based on initial value from above: 22.1% less than previous close and 15.6% less than the 52-week low.

These inputs land CPRT in the BUY zone with a U/D ratio of 3.9. Total Annualized Return (TAR) is 13.4%.

PAR (using Forecast Average—not High—P/E) of 6.8% is less than I seek for a medium-size company. If a solid margin of safety (MOS) backs this study, then I can proceed based TAR instead.

To assess MOS, I start by comparing my inputs with those of Member Sentiment (MS). Based on 68 studies done in the past 90 days (my study and 24 outliers excluded), averages (lower of mean/median) for projected sales growth, projected EPS growth, Forecast High P/E, and Forecast Low P/E are 5.0%, 5.5%, 30.0, and 20.5, respectively. I am lower across the board. VL projects a future average P/E of 20.0 that is less than MS (25.3) and less than mine (21.5).

MS high / low EPS are $2.05 / $1.58 versus my $1.80 / $1.55 (per share). My high EPS is less due to a lower growth rate. VL (M*) high EPS of $1.95 ($1.83) is in the middle albeit for ’30 rather than ’31.

MS LSPF of $23.80 implies a Forecast Low P/E of 15.1: less than the above-stated 20.5. MS LSPF is 26.5% less than the default $1.58/share * 20.5 = $32.39 resulting in more conservative zoning. MS LSPF is still 9.7% greater than mine, though.

MOS is robust in the study because my inputs are below/near most historical/analyst/MS estimates and ranges. Supporting the MOS is MS TAR exceeding mine by 3.4% per year and my lower LSPF.

With regard to valuation, PEG is 1.4 and 1.8 per Zacks and M*, respectively: fairly valued (5.8 per my projected P/E due to low growth rate). Relative Value [(current P/E) / 5-year-mean average P/E] is quite low at 0.59. “Quick and dirty” cash flow has stock undervalued by 30%. M* reports stock at a 20% discount.

Per my SSG, CPRT is a U/D BUY right now under $29 share. [52.2 / ((14.87 / 100 ) +1 ) ^ 5] ~ $26 meets the BetterInvesting® TAR criterion given forecast high price ~$52.

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