Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Just Reported Annual Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?

Last week, you might have seen that Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) released its annual result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 6.5% to US$49.51 in the past week. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$4.2b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 3.2% to hit US$1.40 per share. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Copart

After the latest results, the ten analysts covering Copart are now predicting revenues of US$4.61b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a solid 8.8% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to grow 11% to US$1.58. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$4.67b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.64 in 2025. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a minor downgrade to their earnings per share forecasts.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$57.04, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Copart at US$63.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$50.00. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Copart's past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Copart's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 8.8% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 16% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 6.6% per year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Copart is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Copart going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

We also provide an overview of the Copart Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.