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Investing.com - Shares in Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) slumped in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday, as analysts flagged a lack of details around the used-car platform's current year outlook that dampened the impact of strong returns in the fourth quarter.
For the three months ended December 31, the company reported earnings of $0.56 a diluted share on revenue of $3.55 billion, compared with Bloomberg consensus estimates of $0.31 and $3.34 billion, respectively. Adjusted income before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization came in at $359 million, above projections of $328.9 million.
Retail unit sales in the quarter were 114,379, versus estimates of 108,339. Overall gross profit per vehicle of $6,671 also topped consensus forecasts of $6,625, while the number's year-over-year growth accelerated against the prior quarter.
"But this beat was less than it has been," analysts at DA Davidson said in a note to clients, adding that lower-than-anticipated retail gross profit per unit of $3,226 on an unadjusted basis was "the culprit."
"This was up 15%, but that was less than the 16% estimate and below last quarter’s 30% increase," the analysts wrote. "So we wouldn’t call that a bad number at all, just not quite up to last quarter’s growth and heightened expectations."
Carvana said it sees "significant growth" in both retail units sold and core profit in 2025, saying it is well-positioned for a "strong" year. Its guidance for the current quarter also calls for a sequential increase in the figures.
However, analysts at Jefferies noted they were looking for "more details" on the first-quarter and annual outlook in order to "gain greater comfort" around the sustainability of Carvana's "economics" as the number of total units sold climbs. The absence of a specific 2025 margin outlook has also driven the post-earnings fall in the stock, analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said.
(Yasin Ebrahim contributed reporting.0
