CARVANA CO. (CVNA)
SIC breadcrumb: Retail Trade > SIC Major Group 55 > SIC 5500 Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1690820. Latest filing source: 0001690820-26-000009.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 20,322,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-18 |
| Net income | 1,407,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-18 |
| Assets | 13,201,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-18 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-18. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001690820.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 858,870,000 | 1,955,467,000 | 3,940,000,000 | 5,587,000,000 | 12,814,000,000 | 13,604,000,000 | 10,771,000,000 | 13,673,000,000 | 20,322,000,000 | |
| Net income | -93,112,000 | -62,841,000 | -55,476,000 | -115,000,000 | -171,000,000 | -135,000,000 | -1,587,000,000 | 450,000,000 | 210,000,000 | 1,407,000,000 |
| Operating income | -2,351,000,000 | -80,000,000 | 990,000,000 | 1,881,000,000 | ||||||
| Gross profit | 19,197,000 | 68,091,000 | 196,709,000 | 507,000,000 | 794,000,000 | 1,929,000,000 | 1,246,000,000 | 1,724,000,000 | 2,876,000,000 | 4,192,000,000 |
| Diluted EPS | -2.45 | -2.63 | -1.63 | -15.74 | 0.75 | 1.59 | 8.45 | |||
| Operating cash flow | -240,225,000 | -199,924,000 | -414,340,000 | -757,000,000 | -608,000,000 | -2,594,000,000 | -1,324,000,000 | 803,000,000 | 918,000,000 | 1,036,000,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 39,539,000 | 78,490,000 | 143,668,000 | 231,000,000 | 360,000,000 | 557,000,000 | 512,000,000 | 87,000,000 | 91,000,000 | 147,000,000 |
| Assets | 335,833,000 | 641,137,000 | 991,013,000 | 2,057,748,000 | 3,035,000,000 | 7,015,000,000 | 8,698,000,000 | 7,071,000,000 | 8,484,000,000 | 13,201,000,000 |
| Liabilities | 200,822,000 | 361,593,000 | 763,585,000 | 1,865,809,000 | 2,233,000,000 | 6,490,000,000 | 9,751,000,000 | 7,455,000,000 | 7,109,000,000 | 8,998,000,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 125,736,000 | 79,686,000 | 98,112,000 | 388,000,000 | 306,000,000 | -518,000,000 | 243,000,000 | 1,260,000,000 | 3,441,000,000 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 39,184,000 | 172,680,000 | 78,861,000 | 76,000,000 | 301,000,000 | 403,000,000 | 434,000,000 | 530,000,000 | 1,716,000,000 | 2,327,000,000 |
| Free cash flow | -279,764,000 | -278,414,000 | -558,008,000 | -988,000,000 | -968,000,000 | -3,151,000,000 | -1,836,000,000 | 716,000,000 | 827,000,000 | 889,000,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -7.32% | -2.84% | -2.92% | -3.06% | -1.05% | -11.67% | 4.18% | 1.54% | 6.92% | |
| Operating margin | -17.28% | -0.74% | 7.24% | 9.26% | ||||||
| Return on equity | -49.98% | -69.62% | -117.21% | -44.07% | -44.12% | 185.19% | 16.67% | 40.89% | ||
| Return on assets | -27.73% | -9.80% | -5.60% | -5.59% | -5.63% | -1.92% | -18.25% | 6.36% | 2.48% | 10.66% |
| Liabilities / equity | 2.88 | 9.58 | 19.02 | 5.76 | 21.21 | 30.68 | 5.64 | 2.61 | ||
| Current ratio | 1.40 | 1.60 | 2.01 | 1.57 | 4.12 | 1.69 | 1.77 | 2.16 | 3.64 | 4.31 |
Financial Charts
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-04-29. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001690820.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-Q1 | 2021-03-31 | -0.46 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 2,968,000,000 | -58,000,000 | -0.55 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 2,773,000,000 | 782,000,000 | 7.05 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 2,424,000,000 | -114,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 3,061,000,000 | 28,000,000 | 0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 3,410,000,000 | 18,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 3,655,000,000 | 85,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 3,547,000,000 | 79,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 4,232,000,000 | 216,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 4,840,000,000 | 183,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 5,647,000,000 | 151,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 5,603,000,000 | 857,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 6,432,000,000 | 250,000,000 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001690820-26-000035.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to "Carvana," the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Carvana Co. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our audited consolidated financial statements, the accompanying notes and the MD&A included in our most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K, as well as our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Our differentiated business model combines a comprehensive online sales experience with a vertically integrated supply chain, designed to sell high-quality vehicles to our customers transparently and efficiently at a low price. The automotive retail industry is large – with approximately 37 million used auto retail transactions in the United States (“U.S.”) in 2024 according to Cox Automotive – and highly fragmented – with the top 10 used auto retailers in the U.S. accounting for less than 10% of the market share in 2024. These dynamics create an exceptional opportunity for disruption that our custom-built business model can capitalize on to remain well-positioned for long-term growth. Over the years, we have leveraged our growing logistics network, which spans 316 metropolitan statistical areas, and our in-house distribution network, servicing over 80% of the U.S. population as of March 31, 2026, to sell 2.9 million retail vehicles, generating $90.5 billion in total revenue since inception in 2012 through March 31, 2026.
•Vehicle Acquisition. We primarily acquire our used vehicle inventory directly from customers, used car auctions, and wholesale used vehicle suppliers, including retail marketplace partners. Acquiring inventory directly from customers when they trade in or sell us their vehicles in a one-way transaction eliminates auction fees and provides for a more diverse set of vehicles. After answering a few questions about the vehicle condition and features, our online tool provides customers with an automated, conditional offer for their existing vehicle that can be applied to any vehicle purchase or paid directly without an associated vehicle purchase. Our online tool then allows customers to schedule a time to have their existing vehicle picked up at their home, or drop it off at a Carvana location, and receive payment. We designed this process to be convenient, seamless, and to eliminate the need for a customer to visit a dealership or negotiate a private sale.
•Inspection and Reconditioning. Once we acquire a vehicle, we leverage our in-house logistics network or a vendor to transport the vehicle to one of our inspection and reconditioning centers ("IRC") or auction locations with reconditioning capabilities (together with IRCs "Reconditioning Sites"), at which point the vehicle enters our inventory management system. We then begin an inspection process covering controls, features, brakes, tires, and cosmetics. Each Reconditioning Site leverages proprietary inventory management technology and includes trained technicians, vehicle lifts, paintless dent repair, and paint capabilities and receives on-site support from vendors with whom we have integrated systems to expedite ready access to parts and materials. We have a uniform set of cosmetic standards across all Reconditioning Sites to provide a consistent customer experience. When an inspection is complete, we estimate the necessary reconditioning cost for the vehicle to meet our standards and expected timing for that vehicle to be made available for sale on our website. Vehicles that do not meet Carvana standards are sold wholesale, either through our wholesale marketplace platform or through third party auctions.
•Online Search and Shopping Experience. We offer a mobile-optimized website, where prospective retail car buyers can immediately begin browsing, researching, filtering, and identifying their vehicle of choice from an inventory of over 70,000 total website units that we offer for sale as of March 31, 2026. We leverage our patented, automated photo technology to offer an annotated virtual vehicle tour, which includes a 360-degree view of the interior and exterior of the actual vehicle and allows customers to view vehicle imperfections through high-definition photography. Our website also features integrations with various vehicle data providers for vehicle feature and option information to assist customers with purchase decisions.
•Financing. We offer integrated financing using our proprietary loan origination platform. Customers who choose to apply for our in-house financing fill out a short prequalification form, and, if approved, are nearly instantaneously presented with an interactive set of conditional financing terms generated by our proprietary credit scoring and deal structuring algorithms for every vehicle in our inventory. Our financing tool is designed to intuitively and
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transparently show the relationship between down payment, monthly payment, and loan term to assist the customer in selecting a payment plan tailored to their specific needs. This pre-approval involves a short process that does not impact customers’ credit unless they pursue a purchase and finance the transaction. For customers who choose not to utilize our financing, we also accept payment in cash or financing from third party lenders, such as banks or credit unions.
•Complementary Products. As part of the integrated purchasing process, customers have the option to protect their vehicle with a vehicle service contract (“VSC”). VSCs provide customers with protection against the costs of certain mechanical repairs after the expiration of their vehicle’s original manufacturer warranty. In most states, customers financing their purchase with us are also offered guaranteed asset protection ("GAP") waiver coverage during checkout to provide customers with protection for the value of the loan. We have also partnered with Root, Inc. ("Root"), an online car insurance company, to offer an integrated auto insurance solution, through which customers in most states may conveniently access auto insurance directly from the Carvana e-commerce platform. We collectively refer to VSC, GAP, and auto insurance as complementary products.
•Nationwide Logistics Network and Distinctive Fulfillment Experience. We have developed proprietary logistics software and an in-house nationwide delivery network designed to predictably and efficiently transport cars and provide customers with a distinctive fulfillment experience. Our logistics network and technologies that support it are based on a "hub and spoke" model, which connects Reconditioning Sites to vending machines and hubs via our fleet of multi-car and single-car haulers. This allows us to efficiently manage locations, routes, route capacities, trucks, and drivers while also dynamically optimizing for speed and cost. This proprietary logistics infrastructure enables us to offer our customers and operations team highly accurate predictions of vehicle availability, to minimize delays, and promote a seamless and reliable customer experience. We offer customers in our markets a home delivery option that is typically conducted by a Carvana employee on a branded hauler. Customers in certain markets can also pick up their vehicles at one of our patented car vending machines, which are multi-story glass towers that store purchased vehicles, or at other customer-facing locations. As of March 31, 2026, we estimate that 75% of the U.S. population is within 100 miles of an IRC or auction site, which shortens the distance from our inventory pools to our customers to reduce delivery times.
•Post-sale customer support. After purchase, our customer advocates handle post-sale coordination and assistance, including facilitating returns or exchanges under our seven-day return policy. As of March 31, 2026, customers rated us an average of 4.6 out of 5.0 from over 265,000 surveys on our website since inception, fostering repeat business and a strong referral network.
Retail Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers increased by 40.0% to 187,393, compared to 133,898 in the three months ended March 31, 2025.
We continue to view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important long-term measure of our performance, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to efficiently increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, complementary products, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
We continue to prioritize efficient growth in retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. To prioritize growth, we are pursuing investments in technology and infrastructure, while simultaneously maintaining our focus on efficiency gains and profitability. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as partnerships, product development, and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
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Revenue and Gross Profit
We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the retail vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, including sales through our wholesale marketplace, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, and sales of complementary products.
Our largest source of revenue, retail vehicle sales, totaled $4.8 billion and $3.0 billion during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. We generally expect retail vehicle sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. We generate a majority of gross profit on retail vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. Retail vehicle sales also include shipping and delivery fees and service revenue from retail marketplace transactions, which are retail marketplace partner vehicles sold to customers through Carvana, that, depending on the structure of the partnership, may receive net revenue treatment.
Wholesale sales and revenues include sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory. We also include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by non-Carvana sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related service revenues
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Part I, including matters set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except when stated otherwise, we present the discussion in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on a consolidated basis.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Each element of our business, from inventory procurement to fulfillment and overall ease of the online transaction, has been built for this singular purpose.
See Part I, Item 1 - "Business" for a detailed description and discussion of the Company's business.
Refer to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 19, 2025 for discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Retail Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers increased by 43.3% to 596,641, compared to 416,348 in the year ended December 31, 2024.
We continue to view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important long-term measure of our performance, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to efficiently increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, complementary products, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
We continue to prioritize efficient growth in retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. To prioritize growth, we are pursuing investments in technology and infrastructure, while simultaneously maintaining our focus on efficiency gains and profitability. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as partnerships, product development and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
Revenue and Gross Profit
We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the retail vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, including sales through our wholesale marketplace, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, and sales of complementary products.
Our largest source of revenue, retail vehicle sales, totaled $14.5 billion and $9.7 billion during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We generally expect retail vehicle sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. We generate a majority of gross profit on retail vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. Retail vehicle sales also include shipping and delivery fees and service revenue from retail marketplace transactions, which are retail marketplace partner vehicles sold to customers through Carvana, that, depending on the structure of the partnership, may receive net revenue treatment.
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Wholesale sales and revenues includes sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory. We also include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by non-Carvana sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related service revenues, in wholesale sales and revenues. Wholesale sales and revenues totaled $4.1 billion and $2.8 billion during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We generally expect wholesale sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold through inventory we acquire via trade-ins and from customers who wish to sell us a car independent of a retail sale and with the movement of wholesale marketplace units. We generate gross profit on wholesale vehicle sales from the difference between the wholesale selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. We generate a gross profit on wholesale marketplace units from the difference between the revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units through our wholesale marketplace platform less our cost of sales associated with operating the wholesale marketplace platform.
Other sales and revenues, which primarily includes gains on the sales of finance receivables we originate and sales commissions on complementary products such as VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, totaled $1.7 billion and $1.2 billion during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We generally expect other sales and revenues to trend proportionately with retail units sold. We also expect other sales and revenues to increase as we improve our ability to monetize loans we originate, including through securitization transactions, and sell and offer attractive financing solutions and complementary products to our customers, including products customarily sold by automotive retailers or insurance products customarily sold by traditional insurance companies, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. Other sales and revenues are 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue.
Our highest priority continues to be providing exceptional customer experiences while making effective use of our infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold. Strategies to support efficient growth initiatives, which we may undertake from time to time, include the following:
•Increase the purchase of vehicles from customers. Over time, we plan to grow the number of vehicles that we purchase from our customers as trade-ins or independent of a retail sale. This will provide additional vehicles for our retail business, which on average are more profitable compared to the same vehicle acquired at auction, and expand our inventory selection. In addition, this in turn will grow our wholesale business.
•Optimize average days to sale. Our goal is generally to optimize our inventory size relative to sales to achieve our desired average days to sale. Reductions in average days to sale lead to fewer vehicle price reductions, and therefore higher average selling prices, all other factors being equal. Higher average selling prices in turn lead to higher gross profit per unit sold, all other factors being equal.
•Leverage existing inspection and reconditioning infrastructure. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity at our existing IRCs and auction locations, which collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition approximately 1.5 million vehicles per year at full utilization.
•Expand our logistics network. As we scale, we intend to further expand our in-house logistics network to transport cars to our IRCs or other sites after acquisition from customers or wholesale auctions.
•Increase conversion on existing products. We plan to continue to improve our website to highlight the benefits of our complementary product offerings, including financing, complementary products, and trade-ins.
•Add new products and services. We plan to utilize our online sales platform to offer additional complementary products and services to our customers.
•Increase monetization of our finance receivables. We plan to continue selling finance receivables in securitization transactions and otherwise expand our base of financial partners who purchase the finance receivables originated on our platform to reduce our effective cost of funds.
•Optimize purchasing and pricing. We are constantly improving the ways in which we predict customer demand, value vehicles sight unseen and optimize what we pay to acquire those vehicles. We also regularly test different pricing of our products, including vehicle sticker prices, trade-in and independent vehicle offers, and complementary product prices, and we believe we can improve by further optimizing prices over time.
Seasonality
We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, including as a result of macroeconomic conditions, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. Retail and wholesale used vehicle sales generally exhibit seasonality with sales peaking late in the first calendar quarter and diminishing through the rest
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of the year, with the lowest relative level of vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. Due to our historical and current rapid growth, our overall sales patterns in the past have not always reflected the general seasonality of the used vehicle industry. However, as our business continues to mature, our results may become more reflective of typical market seasonality. Used vehicle prices also exhibit seasonality, with used vehicles generally depreciating at a faster rate in the fourth and first quarters of each year and a slower rate in the second and third quarters of each year, all other factors being equal.
Effects of Tariffs
The global trade environment is uncertain and rapidly evolving. We are continuing to monitor changes in tariff policy and the impact of these changes on our industry and the economy and seek to adjust to these changes as efficiently as possible. For the year ended December 31, 2025, tariffs did not materially impact our financial or operating results.
Investment in Growth
We maintain a primary focus on expanding the scale and reach of our business, while simultaneously driving operational efficiency, flexibility, and scalability through process and technology improvements that underpin sustainable, profitable growth. While we intend to become increasingly efficient over time, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions, we also anticipate that our operating expenses will increase as we grow retail units sold, wholesale units sold, and wholesale marketplace units transacted. There is no guarantee that we will be able to realize the desired return on our investments.
Relationships with Related Parties
For discussion about our relationships with related parties, refer to Note 6 — Related Party Transactions of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Proxy Statement for our 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our progress and make strategic decisions. Our key operating metrics reflect the key drivers of our growth, including increasing brand awareness, enhancing the selection of vehicles we make available to our customers, and serving more of the U.S. population. Our key operating metrics also demonstrate our ability to translate these drivers into retail sales and to monetize these retail sales through a variety of product offerings.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Retail units sold | 596,641 | 416,348 | ||||
| Average monthly unique visitors (in thousands) | 18,487 | 17,248 | ||||
| Total website units | 75,683 | 53,360 | ||||
| Total gross profit per unit | $ | 7,026 | $ | 6,908 | ||
| Total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP | $ | 7,182 | $ | 7,196 |
Retail Units Sold
We define retail units sold as the number of vehicles sold to customers in a given period, including retail marketplace partner vehicles, net of returns under our seven-day return policy. We view retail units sold as a key measure of our growth for several reasons. First, retail units sold is the primary driver of our revenues and, indirectly, gross profit, since retail unit sales enable multiple complementary revenue streams, including financing, complementary products, and trade-ins. Second, growth in retail units sold increases the base of available customers for referrals and repeat sales. Third, growth in retail units sold is an indicator of our ability to successfully scale our logistics, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
Average Monthly Unique Visitors
We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website or iOS/Android application within a calendar month, based on data provided by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of
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monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the strength of our brand, the effectiveness of our advertising and merchandising campaigns, and consumer awareness of our brand.
Total Website Units
We define total website units as the number of vehicles listed on our website on the last day of a given reporting period, including vehicles available for sale, vehicles currently engaged in a purchase or reserved by a customer, and vehicles that can be reserved that generally have not yet completed the inspection and reconditioning process. We view total website units as a key measure of our growth. Growth in total website units increases the selection of vehicles available to our consumers, which we believe will allow us to increase the number of vehicles we sell over time. Moreover, growth in total website units indicates our ability to scale our vehicle purchasing, inspection and reconditioning operations. As part of our inventory strategy, over time we may choose not to expand total website units while continuing to grow sales, thereby improving other key operating metrics of the business.
Total Gross Profit per Unit
We define total gross profit per unit as the aggregate gross profit in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period, including gross profit generated from the sale of retail vehicles, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, commissions on sales of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage and other complementary products, and gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles. We operate an integrated business with the objective of increasing the number of retail units sold and total gross profit per unit. Gross profits generated from the sale of retail and wholesale units are interrelated. For example, our nationwide reconditioning and inspection centers are designed to produce vehicles for both retail and wholesale sales, our vehicle storage locations have shared parking for both retail and wholesale vehicles, and our integrated multi-vehicle logistics and last mile delivery network is operated in service of both retail and wholesale sales. Such interrelationships require us to share finite operational capacity and optimize joint decisions between retail and wholesale sales, in order to position us to achieve our objective of increasing total gross profit per unit. As a result, the inclusion of gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles in total gross profit per unit reflects our integrated business model and the interrelationship between wholesale and retail vehicle sales. We believe the total gross profit per unit metrics provide investors with the greatest opportunity to view our performance through the same lens that our management does, and therefore assists investors to best evaluate our business and measure our progress.
Total Gross Profit per Unit, Non-GAAP
We define total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP as the aggregate gross profit, non-GAAP in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period. Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as gross profit plus depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales, share-based compensation expense in cost of sales, and restructuring expense, minus revenue related to warrants to acquire common stock of other entities (the "Warrants") as discussed in Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information, including the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP").
Components of Results of Operations
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales represent the aggregate sales of new and used vehicles to customers through our website. Revenue from retail vehicle sales is recognized upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by the customer, and is reported net of a reserve for expected returns. Factors affecting retail vehicle sales revenue include the number of retail units sold and the average selling price of these vehicles. Changes in retail units sold are a much larger driver of changes in revenue than are changes in average selling price.
Retail vehicle sales also include shipping and delivery fees and service revenue from retail marketplace transactions, which are retail marketplace partner vehicles sold to customers through Carvana, where, depending on the structure of the partnership, we may recognize revenue on the sale of the vehicle on a net basis, rather than recognizing the full amount of the vehicle sales price as revenue. As a result, an increase in retail marketplace units sold as a percentage of total retail units sold could lead to a decrease in retail revenue per unit sold, and vice versa, other things being equal.
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The number of retail vehicles we sell depends on the volume of traffic to our website, our inventory selection, the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts, the quality of our customers' purchase experience, our volume of referrals and repeat customers, the competitiveness of our pricing, competition from other car dealerships and general macroeconomic and used car industry conditions, including inflationary pressures and benchmark interest rates, as well as those conditions that could arise from the global trade and geopolitical environment. On a quarterly basis, the number of retail vehicles we sell is also affected by seasonality, with demand for retail vehicles generally reaching a seasonal high point late in the first quarter of each year, commensurate with the timing of tax refunds, and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of retail vehicle sales generally expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter.
Our revenue per retail unit depends on macroeconomic and used car industry conditions, including those that could arise from the global trade and geopolitical environment, the mix of vehicles we acquire, retail prices in our markets, our pricing strategy, our average days to sale, and the number of retail marketplace units sold. We may choose to shift our inventory mix to higher or lower cost vehicles, or to raise or lower our prices relative to market to take advantage of supply or demand imbalances, which could temporarily lead to average selling prices increasing or decreasing. We also generally expect lower average days to sale to be associated with higher retail average selling prices due to decreased vehicle depreciation prior to sale, all other factors being equal.
Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues include the aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles we acquire and sell to wholesalers and wholesale marketplace revenues. The vehicles we sell to wholesalers are primarily acquired from customers who sell a vehicle to us without purchasing a retail vehicle and from our customers who trade in their existing vehicles when making a purchase from us. Factors affecting wholesale sales and revenues include the number of wholesale units sold and the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, and macroeconomic conditions, including those that could arise from the global trade and geopolitical environment. The average selling price of our wholesale units is primarily driven by the mix of vehicles we sell to wholesalers, as well as general supply and demand conditions in the applicable wholesale vehicle market, including the level of depreciation in the wholesale vehicle market. Wholesale sales and revenues includes aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to DriveTime through competitive online auctions that are managed by an unrelated third party and through the Company's wholesale marketplace platform. Wholesale marketplace revenues include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers or Carvana to buyers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related services revenue.
Other Sales and Revenues
We generate other sales and revenues primarily through the sales of loans we originate and sell in securitization transactions or to financing partners, reported net of a reserve for expected repurchases, commissions we receive on VSCs, sales of GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, including Root Warrants we receive on sales of auto insurance.
We generally seek to sell the loans we originate to securitization trusts we sponsor and establish or to financing partners. The securitization trusts issue asset-backed securities, some of which are collateralized by the finance receivables that we sell to the securitization trusts. We also sell the loans we originate under committed forward-flow arrangements, including the Ally Master Purchase and Sale Agreement (as defined in Note 7 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K the "Ally MPSA"), and through fixed pool loan sales, with financing partners who generally acquire them at premium prices without recourse to us for their post-sale performance. Factors affecting revenue from these sales include the number of loans we originate, the average principal balance of the loans, the credit quality of the portfolio, the price at which we are able to sell them in securitization transactions or to financing partners, and economic conditions in the capital markets.
The number of loans we originate is driven by the number of retail vehicles sold and the percentage of our sales for which we provide financing, which is influenced by the financing terms we offer our customers relative to alternatives available to the customer. The average principal balance is driven primarily by the mix of vehicles we sell, since higher average selling prices typically mean higher average balances. The price at which we sell the loan is driven by the terms of our securitization transactions and forward-flow arrangement, applicable interest rates, and whether or not the loan includes GAP waiver coverage.
We receive a commission for selling VSCs that DriveTime Automotive Group, Inc. (together with its consolidated affiliates, collectively, "DriveTime") administers under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime. The commission revenue we recognize on VSCs depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of VSCs on these sales, commission
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rates we receive, VSC early cancellation frequency and product features. The GAP waiver coverage revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the number of customers that choose to finance their purchases with us, the frequency of GAP waiver coverage early cancellation, and the conversion rate of GAP waiver coverage on those sales.
Through our integrated auto insurance solution with Root, customers may conveniently access auto insurance directly from the Carvana e-commerce platform. We receive commissions and Root Warrants based on the Root insurance policies sold through the integrated platform. The commission revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of auto policies on those sales, commission rates we receive, and forecasted attrition. The revenue we recognize from Root Warrants as non-cash consideration depends on the probability of achieving certain auto policy sales thresholds within a specific timeline as well as our performance under the agreement with Root.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the cost to acquire, recondition, and transport vehicles associated with preparing them for resale, and wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Vehicle acquisition costs are driven by the mix of vehicles we acquire, the source of those vehicles, and supply-and-demand dynamics in the vehicle market. Reconditioning costs consist of direct costs, including parts, labor, and third-party repair expenses directly attributable to specific vehicles, as well as indirect costs, such as IRC and auction site overhead. Transportation costs consist of costs incurred to transport the vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC or other site. Cost of sales also includes any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Wholesale marketplace cost of sales include costs related to the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including labor, rent, depreciation and amortization.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit is primarily the vehicle sales price minus our costs of sales associated with vehicles that we list and sell. Retail vehicle gross profit per unit is our aggregate retail vehicle gross profit in any measurement period divided by the number of retail units sold in that period.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our cost of sales associated with vehicles we sell to wholesalers, and wholesale marketplace revenues less wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Factors affecting wholesale gross profit include the number of wholesale units sold, the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, the average acquisition price associated with these vehicles, the buyer and seller fees, and the number of wholesale marketplace units transacted.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in revenues from these products and the associated drivers.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses ("SG&A")
SG&A expenses include expenses associated with advertising and providing customer service to customers, including financing, title and registration and limited warranty services, operating our vending machines, hubs, physical auctions, logistics and fulfillment network and other corporate overhead expenses, including expenses associated with information technology, product development, engineering, legal, accounting, finance, and business development. SG&A expenses exclude the costs of inspecting and reconditioning vehicles and transporting vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC or other site, which are included in cost of sales, and payroll costs for our employees related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
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Other Operating Expense, Net
Other operating expense, net primarily includes other general operating expenses such as gains or losses from disposals of long-lived assets.
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense, net includes interest incurred on our various tranches of Senior Secured Notes and Senior Unsecured Notes, our Floor Plan Facility, and our Finance Receivable Facilities (each as defined in Note 9 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), as well as our finance leases, and long-term debt, which are used to fund general working capital, our inventory, our transportation fleet, and certain of our property and equipment. Interest expense, net also includes amortization of capitalized debt issuance costs, which is offset by amortization of debt premium and interest income earned on cash and cash equivalents. Interest expense, net excludes the interest incurred during various construction projects to build, upgrade or remodel certain facilities, which is capitalized to property and equipment and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Other Expense (Income), Net
Other expense (income), net includes changes in fair value on our beneficial interests in securitizations, purchase price adjustment receivables, and fair value adjustments related to our warrants to acquire common stock of other entities as discussed in Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other expense (income), net also includes expense related to our Tax Receivable Agreement ("TRA") liability. Refer to Note 14 — Income Taxes of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the TRA.
Income Tax (Benefit) Provision
Income taxes are recognized based upon our anticipated underlying annual blended federal and state income tax rates adjusted, as necessary, for any discrete tax matters occurring during the period. As the sole managing member of Carvana Group, LLC (together with its subsidiaries “Carvana Group”), Carvana Co. consolidates the financial results of Carvana Group. Carvana Group, LLC is treated as a partnership and therefore not subject to U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Carvana Group is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including Carvana Co., based on its economic interest held in Carvana Group. Carvana Co. is taxed as a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Carvana Group, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by Carvana Co.
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Results of Operations
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net sales and operating revenues: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle sales, net | $ | 14,537 | $ | 9,681 | 50.2 | % | ||||
| Wholesale sales and revenues (1) | 4,052 | 2,841 | 42.6 | % | ||||||
| Other sales and revenues (2) | 1,733 | 1,151 | 50.6 | % | ||||||
| Total net sales and operating revenues | $ | 20,322 | $ | 13,673 | 48.6 | % | ||||
| Gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit | $ | 1,978 | $ | 1,379 | 43.4 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit (1) | 481 | 346 | 39.0 | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit (2) | 1,733 | 1,151 | 50.6 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 4,192 | $ | 2,876 | 45.8 | % | ||||
| Unit sales information: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 596,641 | 416,348 | 43.3 | % | ||||||
| Wholesale vehicle unit sales | 297,643 | 199,780 | 49.0 | % | ||||||
| Per unit revenue: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicles | $ | 24,365 | $ | 23,252 | 4.8 | % | ||||
| Wholesale vehicles (3) | $ | 10,519 | $ | 9,611 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| Per retail unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit | $ | 3,315 | $ | 3,312 | 0.1 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit | 806 | 831 | (3.0) | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit | 2,905 | 2,765 | 5.1 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 7,026 | $ | 6,908 | 1.7 | % | ||||
| Per wholesale unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit (4) | $ | 1,015 | $ | 996 | 1.9 | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale marketplace units transacted | 1,006,551 | 955,802 | 5.3 | % | ||||||
| Wholesale marketplace revenues | $ | 921 | $ | 921 | — | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace gross profit (5) | $ | 179 | $ | 147 | 21.8 | % |
(1) Includes $39 and $28, respectively, of wholesale sales and revenues from related parties.
(2) Includes $347 and $200, respectively, of other sales and revenues from related parties.
(3) Excludes wholesale marketplace revenues and wholesale marketplace units transacted.
(4) Excludes wholesale marketplace gross profit and wholesale marketplace units transacted.
(5) Includes $51 and $86, respectively, of depreciation and amortization expense.
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales increased by $4.9 billion to $14.5 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $9.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of retail vehicles sold to 596,641 from 416,348 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and an increase in retail revenue per retail unit sold to $24,365 in the year ended December 31, 2025 from $23,252 in the prior year, primarily due to lower retail marketplace units sold as a share of total retail units sold.
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Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues increased by $1.2 billion to $4.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $2.8 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of wholesale units sold to 297,643 from 199,780 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, driven by an increase in overall vehicle acquisitions compared to the prior year. Additionally, wholesale revenue per wholesale unit sold increased to $10,519 from $9,611 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Other Sales and Revenues
Other sales and revenues increased by $582 million to $1.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $1.2 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in gain on loan sales as a result of increased retail units sold, loan sale volume, and loan sale spreads, and to higher VSC conversion rates during the year ended December 31, 2025, partially offset by lower interest income on finance receivables held for sale.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit increased by $599 million to $2.0 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $1.4 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in the number of retail vehicles sold to 596,641 from 416,348 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Additionally, retail vehicle gross profit per unit was approximately flat at $3,315 for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $3,312 for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit increased by $135 million to $481 million during the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $346 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in wholesale units sold to 297,643 from 199,780 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, along with an increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $1,015 from $996, respectively. The increase in wholesale units sold was primarily a result of an increase in overall vehicle acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit was primarily a result of lower vehicle acquisition costs relative to sales prices during the year ended December 31, 2025. Additionally, the increase was driven by an increase in marketplace gross profit by $32 million to $179 million during the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $147 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, due to an increase in the number of wholesale marketplace units transacted to 1,006,551 from 955,802 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in other gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in other sales and revenues and the associated drivers.
Components of SG&A
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits (1) | $ | 830 | $ | 700 | ||
| Advertising | 363 | 229 | ||||
| Market occupancy (2) | 68 | 68 | ||||
| Logistics (3) | 162 | 118 | ||||
| Other (4) | 885 | 759 | ||||
| Total | $ | 2,308 | $ | 1,874 |
(1) Compensation and benefits includes all payroll and related costs, including benefits, payroll taxes, and equity-based compensation, except those related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales, and those related to the
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development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
(2) Market occupancy costs includes occupancy costs of our vending machine and hubs. It excludes occupancy costs related to reconditioning vehicles which are included in cost of sales and the portion related to corporate occupancy which are included in other costs.
(3) Logistics includes fuel, maintenance and depreciation related to operating our own transportation fleet, and third-party transportation fees, except the portion related to inbound transportation, which is included in cost of sales.
(4) Other costs include all other selling, general and administrative expenses such as IT expenses, corporate occupancy, professional services and insurance, limited warranty, and title and registration.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $434 million to $2.3 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $1.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to higher employee headcount, advertising, and other SG&A expenses, primarily associated with higher retail units sold.
Other Operating Expense, Net
Other operating expense, net decreased by $9 million to $3 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $12 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, due to lower disposals of long-lived assets.
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense, net decreased by $146 million to $505 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $651 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to lower interest on the Senior Secured Notes as a result of the repurchases and redemptions of the 2028 Senior Secured Notes and 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes, our election to pay cash interest on the 2028 and 2030 Senior Secured Notes, higher interest income, and lower interest on the finance receivable facilities and floor plan facility.
Loss on Debt Extinguishment
Loss on debt extinguishment was $16 million and $12 million during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2025, $611 million of principal amount of 2028 Senior Secured Notes were voluntarily repurchased and redeemed for $633 million, which included $7 million of accrued interest and $1 million of pro-rata write-offs of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized premium. During the year ended December 31, 2024, $470 million of principal amount of 2028 Senior Secured Notes were voluntarily repurchased and redeemed for $492 million, which included $12 million of accrued interest and $2 million of pro-rata write-offs of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized premium.
Other Expense (Income), Net
Other expense (income), net was an expense of $2.3 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 and was primarily due to $2.2 billion of TRA expense and a $64 million decrease in the fair value of Root Warrants, partially offset by a $12 million increase in the fair value of beneficial interests in securitizations. Other expense (income), net was income of $73 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 and was primarily due to a $115 million increase in the fair value of Root Warrants and a $23 million increase in the fair value of beneficial interests in securitizations, partially offset by $67 million of TRA expense.
Income Tax (Benefit) Provision
Income tax (benefit) provision was a benefit of $2.8 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 and was primarily due to the release of our valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We released $2.2 billion of our valuation allowance during the year ended December 31, 2025 and recorded $547 million of income tax benefit as a result of current year activity. Income tax (benefit) provision was a benefit of $4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. For additional information, see Note 14 —Income Taxes.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we also present the following non-GAAP measures: Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP;
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Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net income, gross profit, or SG&A expenses, as determined by GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus (minus) income tax (benefit) provision, interest expense, net, other operating expense, net, other expense (income), net, depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales and SG&A expenses, share-based compensation expense in cost of sales and SG&A expenses, loss (gain) on debt extinguishment, and restructuring expense, minus revenue related to our warrants. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP gross profit plus depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales, and share-based compensation expense in cost of sales, minus revenue related to our warrants. Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP is Gross profit, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
SG&A expenses, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP SG&A expenses minus depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses, share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses, and restructuring expense in SG&A expenses. Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP is SG&A expenses, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
We use these non-GAAP measures to measure the operating performance of our business as a whole and relative to our total revenues and retail vehicle unit sales. We believe that these metrics are useful measures to us and to our investors because they exclude certain financial, capital structure, and non-cash items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations, in part because they may vary widely across time and within our industry independent of the performance of our core operations. We believe that excluding these items enables us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period and relative to our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP may not be comparable to similarly titled measures provided by other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculations.
A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, Gross profit, non-GAAP to gross profit, and SG&A expenses, non-GAAP to SG&A expenses, which are the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and calculations of Adjusted EBITDA margin, Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP, and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP is as follows:
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| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1,895 | $ | 404 | $ | 150 | ||||
| Income tax (benefit) provision | (2,785) | (4) | 25 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 505 | 651 | 632 | |||||||
| Other operating expense, net | 3 | 12 | 8 | |||||||
| Other expense (income), net | 2,250 | (73) | (9) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 111 | 140 | 169 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses | 164 | 165 | 183 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 3 | 1 | — | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses | 96 | 91 | 73 | |||||||
| Warrant revenue | (21) | (21) | (21) | |||||||
| Loss (gain) on debt extinguishment | 16 | 12 | (878) | |||||||
| Restructuring expense | — | — | 7 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 2,237 | $ | 1,378 | $ | 339 | ||||
| Total revenues | $ | 20,322 | $ | 13,673 | $ | 10,771 | ||||
| Net income margin | 9.3 | % | 3.0 | % | 1.4 | % | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 11.0 | % | 10.1 | % | 3.1 | % | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 4,192 | $ | 2,876 | $ | 1,724 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 111 | 140 | 169 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 3 | 1 | — | |||||||
| Warrant revenue | (21) | (21) | (21) | |||||||
| Gross profit, non-GAAP | $ | 4,285 | $ | 2,996 | $ | 1,872 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 596,641 | 416,348 | 312,847 | |||||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit | $ | 7,026 | $ | 6,908 | $ | 5,511 | ||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 7,182 | $ | 7,196 | $ | 5,984 | ||||
| SG&A expenses | $ | 2,308 | $ | 1,874 | $ | 1,796 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses | 164 | 165 | 183 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses | 96 | 91 | 73 | |||||||
| Restructuring expense in SG&A expenses | — | — | 7 | |||||||
| SG&A expenses, non-GAAP | $ | 2,048 | $ | 1,618 | $ | 1,533 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 596,641 | 416,348 | 312,847 | |||||||
| Total SG&A expenses per retail unit | $ | 3,868 | $ | 4,501 | $ | 5,741 | ||||
| Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 3,433 | $ | 3,886 | $ | 4,900 |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
We generate cash from the sale of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and other complementary products. We generate additional cash flows through our financing activities including our short-term revolving inventory and finance receivable facilities and real estate and equipment financing, the issuance of debt securities, and new issuances of equity. Going forward, we expect to fund growth and expansion primarily through cash generated from operating activities, while retaining the option to utilize financing activities as a supplemental source if desired. We expect our primary sources of cash to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities for at least the next 12 months.
Our ability to service our debt and fund working capital, capital expenditures, and business development efforts in the long-term depends on our ability to generate cash from operating and financing activities, which is subject to our future operating performance, as well as to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which are beyond our control. Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including our ability to generate cash from operating activities, our ability to refinance indebtedness, our ability to obtain supplemental liquidity through debt, equity, including the issuance of equity pursuant to our ATM Program, if used, strategic relationships or other arrangements on terms available or acceptable to us, our rate of revenue growth, our build-outs of ADESA auction sites to provide IRC capabilities, the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and software development efforts, our advertising spend, and increased population coverage. If we need to obtain supplemental liquidity, there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us in the future.
On July 19, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement (the "Distribution Agreement") to establish an ATM Program, and on July 31, 2024, the Company refreshed the ATM Program by entering into an Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Moelis & Company LLC, and Virtu Americas LLC. On February 19, 2025, the Company further refreshed the ATM Program by entering into a Second Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and Virtu Americas LLC. Under the ATM Program, the Company could sell up to the greater of (i) shares of Class A common stock representing an aggregate offering price of $1.0 billion, or (ii) an aggregate of 21 million shares of Class A common stock, from time to time. As of December 31, 2025, $461 million of aggregate offering price remained available to be sold under the ATM Program. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we issued 1.5 million shares of Class A common stock at a weighted-average issuance price per share of $364.93, for gross proceeds of $539 million. However, there can be no assurance that we will sell further shares of Class A common stock through the ATM Program, or otherwise.
Subject to the restrictions in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes, we or our affiliates have and may again, at any time, and from time to time, repurchase shares of our Class A common stock, our Senior Unsecured Notes, our Senior Secured Notes, or any other securities we may issue, from time to time, in open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, in exchange for property or other securities or otherwise. In addition, subject to the restrictions in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes and the terms of such notes and our Senior Unsecured Notes, we may again, redeem all or portions of such notes. During the year ended December 31, 2025, as permitted by the indenture, $611 million of principal amount of 2028 Senior Secured Notes were voluntarily repurchased and redeemed for $633 million, which included $7 million of accrued interest and $1 million of pro-rata write-offs of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized premium. Further, during the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company repaid $98 million of principal amount of the 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes upon maturity. Any additional repurchase or redemption decisions will be made after consideration of market conditions and liquidity needs and will be upon such terms and at such prices as we determine appropriate or as required under the indenture governing the applicable notes. However, there is no guarantee that a repurchase or redemption will take place.
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Liquidity Resources
We had the following committed liquidity resources, secured debt capacity, and other unpledged assets available as of December 31, 2025 and 2024:
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 2,327 | $ | 1,716 | ||
| Availability under short-term revolving facilities (1) | 2,052 | 1,879 | ||||
| Committed liquidity resources available | $ | 4,379 | $ | 3,595 | ||
| Super senior debt capacity | 1,500 | 1,500 | ||||
| Pari passu senior debt capacity | 750 | 485 | ||||
| Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations | 110 | 110 | ||||
| Total liquidity resources | $ | 6,739 | $ | 5,690 |
(1) Based on pledging all eligible vehicles and finance receivables under the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivables Facilities, excluding the impact to restricted cash requirements.
Our total liquidity potential is composed of cash and cash equivalents, availability under existing credit facilities, additional capacity under the indentures governing our Senior Secured Notes, which allow us to incur additional debt that can be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes, and additional unpledged securities that can be financed using traditional asset-based financing sources.
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash deposits and highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as money market funds.
Availability under short-term revolving facilities is the available amount we can borrow under the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivable Facilities based on the value of pledgeable vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date. Availability under short-term revolving facilities is distinct from the total commitment amount of these facilities because it represents the amount we are able to borrow as of period end, rather than committed future amounts that could be borrowed to finance future additional assets. Effective November 1, 2023, we amended our vehicle inventory Floor Plan Facility to resize the line of credit to $1.5 billion through April 30, 2025 and further renewed until April 30, 2027 on April 29, 2025. See Note 9 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the short-term revolving facilities had a total commitment of $5.0 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively, an outstanding balance of $58 million and $67 million, respectively, and unused capacity of $4.9 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively.
On October 20, 2025, the Company entered into a loan and security agreement (the "Loan Agreement") with Citizens Bank, N.A. ("Citizens Bank"), which provides for up to $250 million in aggregate principal amount of loans to finance certain equipment for its transportation fleet. All loans extended under the Loan Agreement are secured by a first priority lien on the transportation fleet and will mature within four to seven years depending on the attributes of the financed equipment. At maturity, a final payment of unamortized principal will be due to Citizens Bank. These outstanding loans will bear interest at a rate based on the applicable SOFR swap rate, with tenors ranging from two and a half to four years, plus an applicable margin ranging from 2.80% to 2.95% depending on the maturity of the loan. The Company has the option to prepay the outstanding balances of the loans prior to the Maturity Date.
Super senior debt capacity and pari passu senior debt capacity represents basket capacity to incur additional debt that could be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes. The availability of such additional sources depends on many factors and there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available to us in the future.
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Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations includes retained beneficial interests in securitizations that have not been previously pledged or sold. We historically have financed the majority of our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and expect to continue to do so in the future.
On October 28, 2025, the Ally MPSA was amended to, among other things, increase the commitment by Ally to purchase up to $6.0 billion of principal balance of finance receivables between October 28, 2025, and October 27, 2026. See Note 7 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
On October 24, 2025, we entered into a definitive loan purchase agreement with an independent, third-party purchaser for the sale of up to $4.0 billion of principal balance of finance receivables through October 2027. Also, on October 24, 2025, we entered into a separate definitive loan purchase agreement with another independent, third-party purchaser for the sale of up to $4.0 billion of principal balance of finance receivables through December 2027. In addition, on December 5, 2025, we entered into a third definitive loan purchase agreement with a third independent, third-party purchaser for the sale of up to $4.0 billion of principal balance of finance receivables through December 2027. These agreements formalize existing relationships with loan purchasers and establish defined expectations for loan sale volume and sale procedures throughout the respective agreement periods.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company separately acquired five franchise dealerships for total purchase consideration of $160 million, comprised of $101 million in cash and $59 million in trade vehicle floor plan payables. Further, in connection with these franchise dealership acquisitions, the Company entered into a Master Loan and Security Agreement (the "Trade Floor Plan Facility") with Stellantis Financial Services, Inc. ("SFS") to finance certain of our purchases of new vehicle inventory, and such financed inventory secures the Trade Floor Plan Facility. The line of credit under the Trade Floor Plan Facility is $214 million, allocated among sub-advance limits for each dealership location and type of vehicle inventory.
To optimize our cost of capital, in any given period we may choose not to maximize borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities, maximize revolving commitment size, or immediately sale-leaseback real estate; and we may also choose to retain beneficial interests in securitizations for varying amounts of time. This has the benefit of reducing interest expense and debt issuance costs and providing flexibility to minimize financing costs over time.
We consider our total liquidity resources as an input into our planning. In general, changes in total liquidity resources fall into two broad categories: changes due to current business operations and changes due to investments in automotive retail assets.
Changes in liquidity due to current business operations include impacts from fluctuations in Adjusted EBITDA, non-real estate capital expenditures, including technology, furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and changes in traditional working capital, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.
In the ordinary course of business, we sponsor and engage in securitization transactions to sell our finance receivables to a diverse pool of investors. These securitizations involve unconsolidated variable interest entities in which we retain at least 5% of the credit risk of the underlying finance receivable by holding at least 5% of the notes and certificates issued by these entities. We are exposed to market risk in the securitization market. See Note 8 — Securitizations and Variable Interest Entities, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our transactions with unconsolidated variable interest entities.
In addition, we also invest in and generate several types of assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and real estate. To maximize capital efficiency, we generally seek to finance these assets with matched sources of asset-based financing, including short-term revolving facilities for vehicle inventory and finance receivables, beneficial interests financing for retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and sale-leaseback or other real estate financing for IRCs and vending machines. We have historically used these sources of financing to finance our investment in these assets and expect to continue to do so in the future.
As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, our outstanding principal amount of indebtedness was $5.0 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively, summarized in the table below. See Note 9 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our debt.
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| December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||
| (in millions) | |||||
| Asset-Based Financing: | |||||
| Floor plan facility | $ | 58 | $ | 67 | |
| Financing of beneficial interests in securitizations | 374 | 354 | |||
| Real estate financing | 485 | 485 | |||
| Transportation fleet financing | 23 | — | |||
| Total asset-based financing | 940 | 906 | |||
| Senior Secured Notes (1) | 3,929 | 4,358 | |||
| Senior Unsecured Notes | 107 | 205 | |||
| Total debt | 4,976 | 5,469 | |||
| Less: current portion | (211) | (302) | |||
| Less: unamortized debt issuance costs (2) | (36) | (46) | |||
| Plus: unamortized premium (3) | 18 | 27 | |||
| Total included in long-term debt, net | $ | 4,747 | $ | 5,148 |
(1) Includes zero and $105 million of accrued paid-in-kind ("PIK") interest as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Accrued PIK interest increases the principal amount of Senior Secured Notes on each semi-annual interest payment date.
(2) The unamortized debt issuance costs related to long-term debt are presented as a reduction of the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving debt arrangements are presented within other assets on our consolidated balance sheets and not included here.
(3) The unamortized premium relates to a portion of the notes exchange offers completed in September 2023 which were accounted for as a debt modification.
Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,036 | $ | 918 | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (230) | (13) | ||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (137) | 261 | ||||
| Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 669 | 1,166 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 1,760 | 594 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 2,429 | $ | 1,760 |
Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows result from the sales of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and other complementary products. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are purchases of inventory, personnel-related expenses, and cash used to acquire customers. Cash provided by operating activities was $1.0 billion and $918 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, an increase in cash provided by operating activities of $118 million, primarily due to an improvement in operating results, partially offset by increased vehicle inventory acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2025, together with an increase in interest paid due to our election to pay cash interest on the 2028 and 2030 Senior Secured Notes.
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Investing Activities
Our primary use of cash for investing activities is purchases of property and equipment. Cash used in investing activities was $230 million and $13 million during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, an increase in cash used in investing activities of $217 million, primarily due to the acquisition of five franchise dealerships during the year ended December 31, 2025, together with increased purchases of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to our short and long-term debt activity, including proceeds from and payments on our short-term revolving facilities. Cash used in and provided by financing activities was $137 million and $261 million during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, an increase in cash used in financing activities of $398 million primarily driven by the repurchases and redemption of certain of our Senior Secured Notes and payment at maturity of our 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes, and lower net proceeds from our ATM Program during the year ended December 31, 2025, partially offset by lower payments on short-term revolving facilities relative to proceeds from those facilities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We are party to contractual obligations involving commitments to third parties for which we believe we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and meet our obligations as they come due. These contractual obligations impact our liquidity and future capital requirements and primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, leases, short-term revolving facilities, financing of beneficial interests in securitizations, and other purchase obligations and commitments. See Note 7 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, Note 9 — Debt Instruments, Note 15 — Leases, and Note 16 — Commitments and Contingencies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information related to these contractual obligations and commitments.
Fair Value Measurements
We report money market securities, certain receivables, warrants to acquire common stock and beneficial interests in securitizations at fair value. See Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statement and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have a material impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the recognition of income and expenses. The estimates and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The significant accounting estimates which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operation are described below. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more detailed information regarding our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We sell retail vehicles directly to our customers through our website. We recognize revenue upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by a customer at the agreed upon purchase price stated in the contract, including any delivery charges, less an estimate for returns. Our return policy allows customers to initiate a return during the first seven days after delivery. Estimates for returns are based on an analysis of historical experience, trends and sales data. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
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Customers purchasing retail vehicles from us may enter into contracts for VSCs and, if they finance with us, GAP waiver coverage. The prices of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage are set forth in each contract. We sell and receive a commission on VSCs under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we sell VSCs that DriveTime administers and is the obligor. We receive a commission on GAP waiver coverage contracts where the administrator of the contract is obligated to reimburse the holder of the underlying finance receivable for a balance that is in excess of the value of the financed vehicle in the event of a total loss. We recognize commission revenue at the time of sale, net of a reserve for estimated contract cancellations. Our risk related to contract cancellations is limited to the commissions that we receive. Cancellations fluctuate depending on the customer-financing default or prepayment rates, and shifts in customer behavior, including those related to changes in the coverage or term of the product. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our contract cancellation reserves. The reserve for cancellations of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage is estimated based upon historical experience and recent trends and is reflected as a reduction of other sales and revenues. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Under the master dealer agreement with DriveTime, we are also contractually entitled to receive profit-sharing revenues based on the performance of the VSCs once a required claims period has passed. This is a form of variable consideration we recognize as revenue to the extent that it is probable that it will not result in a significant revenue reversal. We apply the expected value method, utilizing expected VSC performance based on historical claims and cancellation data from our customers, as well as other qualitative assumptions to estimate the amount we expect to receive. We reassess the estimate each reporting period with any changes reflected as an adjustment to other sales and revenues in the period identified. Profit-sharing payments will begin when the underlying VSCs reach a specified level of claims history.
Finance Receivables
Finance receivables include installment contracts we originate to facilitate vehicle sales. We classify these receivables as held for sale, as we do not intend to hold the finance receivables we originate to maturity. We typically sell the finance receivables we originate. We record a valuation allowance to report finance receivables at the lower of unpaid principal balance or fair value. To determine the fair value of finance receivables we utilize industry-standard modeling, such as discounted cash flow analysis, factoring in our historical experience, the credit quality of the underlying receivables, loss trends and recovery rates, as well as the overall economic environment. For purposes of determining the valuation allowance, finance receivables are evaluated collectively to determine the allowance as they represent a large group of smaller-balance homogeneous loans. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our valuation allowance. Principal balances of finance receivables are charged-off when we are unable to sell the finance receivable and the related vehicle has been repossessed and liquidated or the receivable has otherwise been deemed uncollectible. The estimates and trends used have historically been effective in our determination of our valuation allowance.
Beneficial Interests in Securitizations
The Company's beneficial interests in securitizations include rated notes and certificates and other assets, all of which are classified as Level 3 due to the lack of observable market data. The Company determines the fair value of its rated notes based on non-binding broker quotes. The non-binding broker quotes are based on models that consider the prevailing interest rates, recent market transactions, and current business conditions. The Company determines the fair value of its certificates and other assets using a combination of non-binding market quotes and internally developed discounted cash flow models. The discounted cash flow models use discount rates based on prevailing interest rates and the characteristics of the specific instruments. See Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the discount rates.
Significant increases or decreases in the inputs to the models could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The Company elected the fair value option on its beneficial interests in securitizations, which allows it to recognize changes in the fair value of these assets in the period the fair value changes resulting in a gain or loss in that period.
Valuation of Inventory
Vehicle inventory consists of used vehicles, primarily acquired directly from customers and at auction. Direct and indirect vehicle reconditioning costs including parts and labor, inbound transportation costs and other incremental costs are capitalized as a component of inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Vehicle inventory cost is determined by specific identification. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price less costs to complete, dispose and transport the vehicles. Selling prices are derived from historical data and trends, such as sales price and inventory turn times of similar vehicles, as well as independent market resources. Each reporting period we recognize any necessary adjustments to
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reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value through cost of sales. To the extent that there are significant changes to estimated vehicle selling prices or decreases in demand for used vehicles, there could be significant adjustments to reflect our inventory at net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes pursuant to the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities related to the expected future tax consequences arising from temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Any effects of changes in income tax rates or laws are included in income tax expense in the period of enactment. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we performed an assessment of the recoverability of deferred tax assets. This assessment considered both positive and negative evidence related to the likelihood of realization of the deferred tax assets. These objective and subjective factors included, but were not limited to, a recent history of sustained profitability and utilization of deferred tax assets, which is objective and verifiable, and anticipated future earnings, including consideration of historical and future excess tax benefits related to equity-based compensation. After evaluating the weight of all available evidence, we determined, based on the accounting standards applicable to such assessment, that there was sufficient evidence as a result of the aforementioned considerations to conclude it was more likely than not that our deferred tax assets will be realizable. As such, during the year ended December 31, 2025, we (i) released $2.2 billion of our valuation allowance through income tax (benefit) provision in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations; (ii) established $277 million of deferred tax assets related to increases in tax basis in Carvana Group through additional paid-in capital in the accompanying consolidated statements of stockholders' equity (deficit); (iii) and recorded $547 million of income tax benefit as a result of current year activity through income tax (benefit) provision in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. We will continue to monitor the need for a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets.
Tax Receivable Agreement
Our TRA liability is determined and recorded in accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies, which requires the determination of whether the liability is both probable and reasonably estimable. The primary consideration is our usage of deferred tax assets, for which we have utilized and expect to utilize in the future and therefore no longer have a full valuation allowance applied against them. As such and in connection with our conclusion that it was more likely than not that our deferred tax assets subject to the TRA would be realized, we determined it was probable our remaining TRA liability related to the tax savings we expect to realize from utilization of such deferred tax assets will be paid. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we recorded TRA expense of $2.2 billion which was recorded to other expense (income), net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we recorded a TRA liability of $2.3 billion and $82 million, respectively, of which $1.7 billion and $61 million, respectively, is due to related parties. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, $37 million and $17 million, respectively, is included in other current liabilities and $2.2 billion and $65 million, respectively, are included in other liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001690820-25-000074.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Part I, including matters set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Form 10-K. Except when stated otherwise, we present the discussion in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on a consolidated basis.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Each element of our business, from inventory procurement to fulfillment and overall ease of the online transaction, has been built for this singular purpose.
See Part I, Item 1 - "Business" for a detailed description and discussion of the Company's business.
Refer to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024 for discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Retail Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have historically experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers increased by 33.1% to 416,348, compared to 312,847 in the year ended December 31, 2023.
We continue to view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important long-term measure of our performance, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to efficiently increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, complementary products, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
•Retail units sold are an important driver of the average number of days between when we acquire the vehicle and when we sell it. Reducing average days to sale impacts gross profit on our vehicles because used vehicles generally depreciate over time.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
We are simultaneously maintaining our focus on efficiency gains and other profitability initiatives, while continuing to invest in technology and infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as continued investment in product development and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
Revenue and Gross Profit
We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the retail vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, including sales through our wholesale marketplace, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, and sales of complementary products.
Our largest source of revenue, retail vehicle sales, totaled $9.7 billion and $7.5 billion during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We generally expect retail vehicle sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. We generate a majority of gross profit on retail vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. Retail vehicle sales also include shipping and delivery fees and service revenue from retail marketplace
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transactions, which are retail marketplace partner vehicles sold to customers through Carvana that receive net revenue treatment due to the timing of payments with our partners.
Wholesale sales and revenues includes sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory. We also include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by non-Carvana sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related service revenues, in wholesale sales and revenues. Wholesale sales and revenues totaled $2.8 billion and $2.5 billion during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We generally expect wholesale sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold through trade-ins and from customers who wish to sell us a car independent of a retail sale and with the movement of wholesale marketplace units. We generate gross profit on wholesale vehicle sales from the difference between the wholesale selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. We generate a gross profit on wholesale marketplace units from the difference between the revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units through our wholesale marketplace platform less our cost of sales associated with operating the wholesale marketplace platform.
Other sales and revenues, which primarily includes gains on the sales of finance receivables we originate and sales commissions on complementary products such as VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, totaled $1.2 billion and $753 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We generally expect other sales and revenues to trend proportionately with retail units sold. We also expect other sales and revenues to increase as we improve our ability to monetize loans we originate, including through securitization transactions, and sell and offer attractive financing solutions and complementary products to our customers, including products customarily sold by automotive retailers or insurance products customarily sold by traditional insurance companies, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. Other sales and revenues are 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue.
Our highest priority continues to be providing exceptional customer experiences while improving efficiency and utilizing our infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold to help us move along the path to achieve sustained profitability. Strategies to support efficient growth initiatives, which we may undertake from time to time include the following:
•Increase the purchase of vehicles from customers. Over time, we plan to grow the number of vehicles that we purchase from our customers as trade-ins or independent of a retail sale. This will provide additional vehicles for our retail business, which on average are more profitable compared to the same vehicle acquired at auction, and expand our inventory selection. In addition, this in turn will grow our wholesale business.
•Optimize average days to sale. Our goal is generally to optimize our inventory size relative to sales to achieve our desired average days to sale. Reductions in average days to sale lead to fewer vehicle price reductions, and therefore higher average selling prices, all other factors being equal. Higher average selling prices in turn lead to higher gross profit per unit sold, all other factors being equal.
•Leverage existing inspection and reconditioning infrastructure. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity at our existing IRCs and auction locations, which collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition more than 1 million vehicles per year at full utilization.
•Expand our logistics network. As we scale, we intend to further expand our in-house logistics network to transport cars to our IRCs or other sites after acquisition from customers or wholesale auctions.
•Increase conversion on existing products. We plan to continue to improve our website to highlight the benefits of our complementary product offerings, including financing, complementary products, and trade-ins.
•Add new products and services. We plan to utilize our online sales platform to offer additional complementary products and services to our customers.
•Increase monetization of our finance receivables. We plan to continue selling finance receivables in securitization transactions and otherwise expand our base of financial partners who purchase the finance receivables originated on our platform to reduce our effective cost of funds.
•Optimize purchasing and pricing. We are constantly improving the ways in which we predict customer demand, value vehicles sight unseen and optimize what we pay to acquire those vehicles. We also regularly test different pricing of our products, including vehicle sticker prices, trade-in and independent vehicle offers, and complementary product prices, and we believe we can improve by further optimizing prices over time.
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Seasonality
We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, including as a result of macroeconomic conditions, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. Retail and wholesale used vehicle sales generally exhibit seasonality with sales peaking late in the first calendar quarter and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. Due to our historical and current rapid growth, our overall sales patterns in the past have not always reflected the general seasonality of the used vehicle industry. However, as our business continues to mature, our results may become more reflective of typical market seasonality. Used vehicle prices also exhibit seasonality, with used vehicles generally depreciating at a faster rate in the fourth and first quarters of each year and a slower rate in the second and third quarters of each year, all other factors being equal.
Investment in Growth
For the past several years, we have been and continue to be focused on driving fundamental gains in gross profit per unit and operational efficiency, flexibility, and scalability through process and technology improvements to increase profitability and provide a strong foundation for profitable growth. As we continue targeting initiatives aimed at improving efficiencies, we are simultaneously investing in the profitable expansion of our business. While we intend to become increasingly efficient over time, we also anticipate that our operating expenses will increase as we grow retail units sold, wholesale units sold, and wholesale marketplace units transacted. There is no guarantee that we will be able to realize the desired return on our investments.
Relationships with Related Parties
For discussion about our relationships with related parties, refer to Note 7 — Related Party Transactions of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Proxy Statement for our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our progress and make strategic decisions. Our key operating metrics reflect the key drivers of our growth, including increasing brand awareness, enhancing the selection of vehicles we make available to our customers, and serving more of the U.S. population. Our key operating metrics also demonstrate our ability to translate these drivers into retail sales and to monetize these retail sales through a variety of product offerings.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Retail units sold | 416,348 | 312,847 | ||||
| Average monthly unique visitors (in thousands) | 17,248 | 15,819 | ||||
| Total website units | 53,360 | 33,075 | ||||
| Total gross profit per unit | $ | 6,908 | $ | 5,511 | ||
| Total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP | $ | 7,196 | $ | 5,984 |
Retail Units Sold
We define retail units sold as the number of vehicles sold to customers in a given period, including retail marketplace partner vehicles, net of returns under our seven-day return policy. We view retail units sold as a key measure of our growth for several reasons. First, retail units sold is the primary driver of our revenues and, indirectly, gross profit, since retail unit sales enable multiple complementary revenue streams, including financing, complementary products, and trade-ins. Second, growth in retail units sold increases the base of available customers for referrals and repeat sales. Third, growth in retail units sold is an indicator of our ability to successfully scale our logistics, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
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Average Monthly Unique Visitors
We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website or iOS/Android application within a calendar month, based on data provided by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the strength of our brand, the effectiveness of our advertising and merchandising campaigns, and consumer awareness of our brand. During 2024, the methodology used by Google Analytics to count unique visitors changed to include individuals visiting our iOS/Android application, in addition to those visiting our website. We believe this change allows us to more accurately calculate and reflect average monthly unique visitors. To conform to current period presentation, we have recast average monthly unique visitors for the year ended December 31, 2023. The change in measurement methodology resulted in 8.5% more average monthly unique visitors for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to previously reported numbers.
Total Website Units
We define total website units as the number of vehicles listed on our website on the last day of a given reporting period, including vehicles available for sale, vehicles currently engaged in a purchase or reserved by a customer, and vehicles that can be reserved that generally have not yet completed the inspection and reconditioning process. We view total website units as a key measure of our growth. Growth in total website units increases the selection of vehicles available to our consumers, which we believe will allow us to increase the number of vehicles we sell over time. Moreover, growth in total website units indicates our ability to scale our vehicle purchasing, inspection and reconditioning operations. As part of our inventory strategy, over time we may choose not to expand total website units while continuing to grow sales, thereby improving other key operating metrics of the business.
Total Gross Profit per Unit
We define total gross profit per unit as the aggregate gross profit in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period, including gross profit generated from the sale of retail vehicles, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, commissions on sales of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and other complementary products, and gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles. We operate an integrated business with the objective of increasing the number of retail units sold and total gross profit per unit. Gross profits generated from the sale of retail and wholesale units are interrelated. For example, our nationwide reconditioning and inspection centers are designed to produce vehicles for both retail and wholesale sales, our vehicle storage locations have shared parking for both retail and wholesale vehicles, and our integrated multi-vehicle logistics and last mile delivery network is operated in service of both retail and wholesale sales. Such interrelationships require us to share finite operational capacity and optimize joint decisions between retail and wholesale sales, in order to position us to achieve our objective of increasing total gross profit per unit. As a result, the inclusion of gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles in total gross profit per unit reflects our integrated business model and the interrelationship between wholesale and retail vehicle sales. We believe the total gross profit per unit metrics provide investors with the greatest opportunity to view our performance through the same lens that our management does, and therefore assists investors to best evaluate our business and measure our progress.
Total Gross Profit per Unit, Non-GAAP
We define total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP as the aggregate gross profit, non-GAAP in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period. Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as gross profit plus depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales, share-based compensation expense in cost of sales, and restructuring expense, minus revenue related to warrants to purchase shares of Root's Class A common stock (the "Root Warrants") as discussed in Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information, including the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP").
Components of Results of Operations
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales represent the aggregate sales of used vehicles to customers through our website. Revenue from retail vehicle sales is recognized upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by the customer, and is reported net of a
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reserve for expected returns. Factors affecting retail vehicle sales revenue include the number of retail units sold and the average selling price of these vehicles. Changes in retail units sold are a much larger driver of changes in revenue than are changes in average selling price.
Retail vehicle sales also include shipping and delivery fees and service revenue from retail marketplace transactions, which are retail marketplace partner vehicles sold to customers through Carvana, where we recognize revenue on the sale of the vehicle on a net basis, rather than recognizing the full amount of the vehicle sales price as revenue. As a result, an increase in retail marketplace units sold as a percentage of total retail units sold would lead to a decrease in retail revenue per unit sold, and vice versa, other things being equal.
The number of retail vehicles we sell depends on the volume of traffic to our website, our inventory selection, the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts, the quality of our customers' purchase experience, our volume of referrals and repeat customers, the competitiveness of our pricing, competition from other used car dealerships, and general macroeconomic and used car industry conditions. On a quarterly basis, the number of retail vehicles we sell is also affected by seasonality, with demand for retail vehicles generally reaching a seasonal high point late in the first quarter of each year, commensurate with the timing of tax refunds, and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of retail vehicle sales generally expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. In 2023, heightened inflation and rising interest rates resulted in lower demand for used vehicles. Heightened inflation and interest rates persisted during the first several months of 2024, and, to a lesser extent, during the remainder of 2024, but were outweighed by seasonal demand associated with the timing of tax refunds and certain of our initiatives focused on growth in retail units sold.
Our revenue per retail unit depends on macroeconomic and used car industry conditions, the mix of vehicles we acquire, retail prices in our markets, our pricing strategy, our average days to sale, and the number of retail marketplace units sold. We may choose to shift our inventory mix to higher or lower cost vehicles, or to raise or lower our prices relative to market to take advantage of supply or demand imbalances, which could temporarily lead to average selling prices increasing or decreasing. We also generally expect lower average days to sale to be associated with higher retail average selling prices due to decreased vehicle depreciation prior to sale, all other factors being equal.
Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues include the aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles we acquire and sell to wholesalers and wholesale marketplace revenues. The vehicles we sell to wholesalers are primarily acquired from customers who sell a vehicle to us without purchasing a retail vehicle and from our customers who trade-in their existing vehicles when making a purchase from us. Factors affecting wholesale sales and revenues include the number of wholesale units sold and the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles. The average selling price of our wholesale units is primarily driven by the mix of vehicles we sell to wholesalers, as well as general supply and demand conditions in the applicable wholesale vehicle market, including the level of depreciation in the wholesale vehicle market. Wholesale sales and revenues includes aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to DriveTime through competitive online auctions that are managed by an unrelated third party and through the Company's wholesale marketplace platform. Wholesale marketplace revenues include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers to buyers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related services revenue.
Other Sales and Revenues
We generate other sales and revenues primarily through the sales of loans we originate and sell in securitization transactions or to financing partners, reported net of a reserve for expected repurchases, commissions we receive on VSCs, sales of GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, including Root Warrants we receive on sales of auto insurance.
We generally seek to sell the loans we originate to securitization trusts we sponsor and establish or to financing partners. The securitization trusts issue asset-backed securities, some of which are collateralized by the finance receivables that we sell to the securitization trusts. We also sell the loans we originate under committed forward-flow arrangements, including a Master Purchase and Sale Agreement (as defined in Note 8 — Finance Receivables Sales Agreements of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), and through fixed pool loan sales, with financing partners who generally acquire them at premium prices without recourse to us for their post-sale performance. Factors affecting revenue from these sales include the number of loans we originate, the average principal balance of the loans, the credit quality of the portfolio, the price at which we are able to sell them in securitization transactions or to financing partners, and economic conditions in the capital markets.
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The number of loans we originate is driven by the number of retail vehicles sold and the percentage of our sales for which we provide financing, which is influenced by the financing terms we offer our customers relative to alternatives available to the customer. The average principal balance is driven primarily by the mix of vehicles we sell, since higher average selling prices typically mean higher average balances. The price at which we sell the loan is driven by the terms of our securitization transactions and forward-flow arrangement, applicable interest rates, and whether or not the loan includes GAP waiver coverage.
We receive a commission for selling VSCs that DriveTime administers under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime. The commission revenue we recognize on VSCs depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of VSCs on these sales, commission rates we receive, VSC early cancellation frequency and product features. The GAP waiver coverage revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the number of customers that choose to finance their purchases with us, the frequency of GAP waiver coverage early cancellation, and the conversion rate of GAP waiver coverage on those sales.
Through our integrated auto insurance solution with Root, customers may conveniently access auto insurance directly from the Carvana e-commerce platform. We receive commissions and Root Warrants based on the Root insurance policies sold through the Integrated Platform. The commission revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of auto policies on those sales, commission rates we receive, and forecasted attrition. The revenue we recognize from Root Warrants as non-cash consideration depends on the probability of achieving certain auto policy sales thresholds within a specific timeline as well as our performance under the agreement with Root.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the cost to acquire, recondition, and transport vehicles associated with preparing them for resale, and wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Vehicle acquisition costs are driven by the mix of vehicles we acquire, the source of those vehicles, and supply-and-demand dynamics in the vehicle market. Reconditioning costs consist of direct costs, including parts, labor, and third-party repair expenses directly attributable to specific vehicles, as well as indirect costs, such as IRC overhead. Transportation costs consist of costs incurred to transport the vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC or other site. Cost of sales also includes any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Wholesale marketplace cost of sales include costs related to the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including labor, rent, depreciation and amortization.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our costs of sales associated with vehicles that we list and sell on our website. Retail vehicle gross profit per unit is our aggregate retail vehicle gross profit in any measurement period divided by the number of retail units sold in that period.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our cost of sales associated with vehicles we sell to wholesalers, and wholesale marketplace revenues less wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Factors affecting wholesale gross profit include the number of wholesale units sold, the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, the average acquisition price associated with these vehicles, the buyer and seller fees, and the number of wholesale marketplace units transacted.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in revenues from these products and the associated drivers.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses ("SG&A")
SG&A expenses include expenses associated with advertising and providing customer service to customers, including financing, title and registration and limited warranty services, operating our vending machines, hubs, physical auctions, logistics and fulfillment network and other corporate overhead expenses, including expenses associated with information technology, product development, engineering, legal, accounting, finance, and business development. SG&A expenses exclude the costs of inspecting and reconditioning vehicles and transporting vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC, which are
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included in cost of sales, and payroll costs for our employees related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Other Operating Expense, Net
Other operating expense, net primarily includes other general operating expenses such as gains or losses from disposals of long-lived assets.
Interest Expense
Interest expense includes interest incurred on our various tranches of Senior Secured Notes and Senior Unsecured Notes, our Floor Plan Facility, and our Finance Receivable Facilities (each as defined in Note 10 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), as well as our finance leases, and long-term debt, which are used to fund general working capital, our inventory, our transportation fleet, and certain of our property and equipment. Interest expense also includes amortization of capitalized debt issuance costs, which is offset by amortization of debt premium and interest income earned on cash and cash equivalents. Interest expense excludes the interest incurred during various construction projects to build, upgrade, or remodel certain facilities, which is capitalized to property and equipment and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net includes changes in fair value on our beneficial interests in securitizations, purchase price adjustment receivables, and fair value adjustments related to our Root Warrants as discussed in Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other (income) expense, net also includes expense related to our Tax Receivable Agreement ("TRA") liability. Refer to Note 15 — Income Taxes for further discussion of the TRA.
Income Tax (Benefit) Provision
Income taxes are recognized based upon our anticipated underlying annual blended federal and state income tax rates adjusted, as necessary, for any discrete tax matters occurring during the period. As the sole managing member of Carvana Group, LLC (together with its subsidiaries “Carvana Group”), Carvana Co. consolidates the financial results of Carvana Group. Carvana Group, LLC is treated as a partnership and therefore not subject to U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Carvana Group is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including Carvana Co., based on its economic interest held in Carvana Group. Carvana Co. is taxed as a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Carvana Group, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by Carvana Co.
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Results of Operations
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net sales and operating revenues: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle sales, net | $ | 9,681 | $ | 7,514 | 28.8 | % | ||||
| Wholesale sales and revenues (1) | 2,841 | 2,504 | 13.5 | % | ||||||
| Other sales and revenues (2) | 1,151 | 753 | 52.9 | % | ||||||
| Total net sales and operating revenues | $ | 13,673 | $ | 10,771 | 26.9 | % | ||||
| Gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit | $ | 1,379 | $ | 746 | 84.9 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit (1) | 346 | 225 | 53.8 | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit (2) | 1,151 | 753 | 52.9 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 2,876 | $ | 1,724 | 66.8 | % | ||||
| Unit sales information: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 416,348 | 312,847 | 33.1 | % | ||||||
| Wholesale vehicle unit sales | 199,780 | 156,545 | 27.6 | % | ||||||
| Per unit revenue: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicles | $ | 23,252 | $ | 24,018 | (3.2) | % | ||||
| Wholesale vehicles (3) | $ | 9,611 | $ | 10,527 | (8.7) | % | ||||
| Per retail unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit | $ | 3,312 | $ | 2,385 | 38.9 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit | 831 | 719 | 15.6 | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit | 2,765 | 2,407 | 14.9 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 6,908 | $ | 5,511 | 25.3 | % | ||||
| Per wholesale unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit (4) | $ | 996 | $ | 888 | 12.2 | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale marketplace units transacted | 955,802 | 871,200 | 9.7 | % | ||||||
| Wholesale marketplace revenues | $ | 921 | $ | 856 | 7.6 | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace gross profit (5) | $ | 147 | $ | 86 | 70.9 | % |
(1) Includes $28 and $19, respectively, of wholesale sales and revenues from related parties.
(2) Includes $200 and $145, respectively, of other sales and revenues from related parties.
(3) Excludes wholesale marketplace revenues and wholesale marketplace units transacted.
(4) Excludes wholesale marketplace gross profit and wholesale marketplace units transacted.
(5) Includes $86 and $102, respectively, of depreciation and amortization expense.
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales increased by $2.2 billion to $9.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $7.5 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of retail vehicles sold to 416,348 from 312,847 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in retail revenue per retail unit sold to $23,252 in the year ended December 31, 2024 from $24,018 in the prior year, due primarily to higher retail marketplace units sold as a share of total retail units sold, partially offset by faster turn times, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
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Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues increased by $337 million to $2.8 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $2.5 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of wholesale units sold to 199,780 from 156,545 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in wholesale units sold was primarily a result of an increase in overall vehicle acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was partially offset by higher overall depreciation in the wholesale vehicle market as the wholesale revenue per wholesale unit sold decreased to $9,611 from $10,527 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Additionally, wholesale marketplace revenues were higher during the year ended December 31, 2024 at $921 million, compared to $856 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to an increase in the number of wholesale marketplace units transacted to 955,802 from 871,200 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Other Sales and Revenues
Other sales and revenues increased by $398 million to $1.2 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $753 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to an increase in gain on loan sales as a result of increased retail units sold, more loan sales, and higher loan sale spreads during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit increased by $633 million to $1.4 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $746 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in the number of retail vehicles sold to 416,348 from 312,847 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Additionally, retail vehicle gross profit per unit increased to $3,312 for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $2,385 for the year ended December 31, 2023. The per unit increase was primarily driven by lower average days to sale, lower vehicle acquisition costs relative to sales prices, and lower reconditioning and inbound transport costs on retail vehicles sold during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit increased by $121 million to $346 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $225 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in wholesale units sold to 199,780 from 156,545 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, along with an increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $996 from $888, respectively. The increase in wholesale units sold was primarily a result of an increase in overall vehicle acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit was primarily a result of lower vehicle acquisition costs relative to sales prices during the year ended December 31, 2024. Additionally, the increase was driven by an increase in marketplace gross profit by $61 million to $147 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $86 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, due to an increase in the number of wholesale marketplace units transacted to 955,802 from 871,200 during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in other gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in other sales and revenues and the associated drivers.
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Components of SG&A
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits (1) | $ | 700 | $ | 661 | ||
| Advertising | 229 | 228 | ||||
| Market occupancy (2) | 68 | 71 | ||||
| Logistics (3) | 118 | 119 | ||||
| Other (4) | 759 | 717 | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,874 | $ | 1,796 |
(1) Compensation and benefits includes all payroll and related costs, including benefits, payroll taxes, and equity-based compensation, except those related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales, and those related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
(2) Market occupancy costs includes occupancy costs of our vending machine and hubs. It excludes occupancy costs related to reconditioning vehicles which are included in cost of sales and the portion related to corporate occupancy which are included in other costs.
(3) Logistics includes fuel, maintenance and depreciation related to operating our own transportation fleet, and third-party transportation fees, except the portion related to inbound transportation, which is included in cost of sales.
(4) Other costs include all other selling, general and administrative expenses such as IT expenses, corporate occupancy, professional services and insurance, limited warranty, and title and registration.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $78 million to $1.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $1.8 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to higher employee headcount and other SG&A expenses, primarily associated with higher retail units sold.
Other Operating Expense, Net
Other operating expense, net increased by $4 million to $12 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, due to higher disposals of long-lived assets.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $19 million to $651 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $632 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to increased interest on the Senior Secured Notes, partially offset by lower interest on the Senior Unsecured Notes, floor plan facility, and finance receivable facilities, and higher interest income.
Loss (Gain) on Debt Extinguishment
Loss on debt extinguishment was $12 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, due to the repurchase of $370 million of 2028 Senior Secured Notes in the open market for $384 million, which included $8 million of accrued interest and $1 million in pro-rata write-offs of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized premium. Additionally, in the year ended December 31, 2024 the Company redeemed $100 million of 2028 Senior Secured Notes for $108 million, which included $3 million of accrued interest. Gain on debt extinguishment was $878 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, due to the exchange of $5.5 billion in principal of Senior Unsecured Notes for $4.2 billion in principal of Senior Secured Notes and $341 million in cash, along with the write off of $66 million of debt issuance costs and a $40 million deferred premium on a portion of the Senior Secured Notes.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net was income of $73 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 and was primarily due to a $115 million increase in the fair value of Root Warrants and a $23 million increase in the fair value of beneficial interests in securitizations, partially offset by $67 million of TRA expense. Other (income) expense, net was income of $9 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 and was primarily due to a $14 million increase in the fair value of beneficial interests in
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securitizations, $6 million of other income, and a $3 million increase in the fair value of Root Warrants, partially offset by $14 million of TRA expense.
Income Tax (Benefit) Provision
Income tax (benefit) provision changed by $29 million to a benefit of $4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to an expense of $25 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. The change was primarily due to the income tax expense related to the cancellation of debt income recognized on the exchange of $5.5 billion in principal of Senior Unsecured Notes for $4.2 billion in principal of Senior Secured Notes and $341 million in cash during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we also present the following non-GAAP measures: Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss), gross profit, or SG&A expenses, as determined by GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus income tax (benefit) provision, interest expense, other operating expense, net, other (income) expense, net, depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales and SG&A expenses, share-based compensation expense in cost of sales and SG&A expenses, goodwill impairment, loss on debt extinguishment, and restructuring expense, minus revenue related to our Root Warrants and gain on debt extinguishment. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP gross profit plus depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales, share-based compensation expense in cost of sales, and restructuring expense in cost of sales, minus revenue related to our Root Warrants. Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP is Gross profit, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
SG&A expenses, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP SG&A expenses minus depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses, share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses, and restructuring expense in SG&A expenses. Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP is SG&A expenses, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
We use these non-GAAP measures to measure the operating performance of our business as a whole and relative to our total revenues and retail vehicle unit sales. We believe that these metrics are useful measures to us and to our investors because they exclude certain financial, capital structure, and non-cash items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations, in part because they may vary widely across time and within our industry independent of the performance of our core operations. We believe that excluding these items enables us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period and relative to our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A expenses, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP may not be comparable to similarly titled measures provided by other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculations.
A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), Gross profit, non-GAAP to gross profit, and SG&A expenses, non-GAAP to SG&A expenses, which are the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and calculations of Adjusted EBITDA margin, Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP, and Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP is as follows:
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| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 404 | $ | 150 | $ | (2,894) | ||||
| Income tax (benefit) provision | (4) | 25 | 1 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 651 | 632 | 486 | |||||||
| Other operating expense, net | 12 | 8 | 14 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (73) | (9) | 56 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 140 | 169 | 114 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses | 165 | 183 | 200 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 1 | — | 16 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses | 91 | 73 | 69 | |||||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | — | 847 | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (21) | (21) | (7) | |||||||
| Loss (Gain) on debt extinguishment | 12 | (878) | — | |||||||
| Restructuring expense (1) | — | 7 | 57 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 1,378 | $ | 339 | $ | (1,041) | ||||
| Total revenues | $ | 13,673 | $ | 10,771 | $ | 13,604 | ||||
| Net income (loss) margin | 3.0 | % | 1.4 | % | (21.3) | % | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 10.1 | % | 3.1 | % | (7.7) | % | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 2,876 | $ | 1,724 | $ | 1,246 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 140 | 169 | 114 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 1 | — | 16 | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (21) | (21) | (7) | |||||||
| Restructuring expense in cost of sales (1) | — | — | 7 | |||||||
| Gross profit, non-GAAP | $ | 2,996 | $ | 1,872 | $ | 1,376 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 416,348 | 312,847 | 412,296 | |||||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit | $ | 6,908 | $ | 5,511 | $ | 3,022 | ||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 7,196 | $ | 5,984 | $ | 3,337 | ||||
| SG&A expenses | $ | 1,874 | $ | 1,796 | $ | 2,736 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A expenses | 165 | 183 | 200 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A expenses | 91 | 73 | 69 | |||||||
| Restructuring expense in SG&A expenses (1) | — | 7 | 50 | |||||||
| SG&A expenses, non-GAAP | $ | 1,618 | $ | 1,533 | $ | 2,417 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 416,348 | 312,847 | 412,296 | |||||||
| Total SG&A expenses per retail unit | $ | 4,501 | $ | 5,741 | $ | 6,636 | ||||
| Total SG&A expenses per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 3,886 | $ | 4,900 | $ | 5,862 |
(1) For the year ended December 31, 2022, includes $28 million of lease termination fees, net of amounts written off for the corresponding operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities which were terminated, $26 million of expenses associated with workforce reductions, of which $7 million was recorded to cost of sales, and $3 million of other restructuring-related costs.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
We generate cash from the sale of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and other complementary products. We generate additional cash flows through our financing activities including our short-term revolving inventory and finance receivable facilities and real estate and equipment financing, the issuance of debt securities, and new issuances of equity. Historically, cash generated from financing activities has funded growth and expansion into new markets and strategic initiatives and we expect this to continue in the future.
In response to the macroeconomic environment, our focus in past years has been on driving profitability through initiatives to better conform our expense structure to unit volume levels and create a strong operational foundation, allowing us to shift focus throughout 2024 to the long-term phase of driving profitable growth. We expect to continue our focus on profitability initiatives as we continue to grow. We expect our primary sources of cash to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities for at least the next 12 months.
Our ability to service our debt and fund working capital, capital expenditures, and business development efforts in the long-term depends on our ability to generate cash from operating and financing activities, which is subject to our future operating performance, as well as to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which are beyond our control. Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including our ability to generate cash from operating activities, our ability to refinance indebtedness, our ability to obtain supplemental liquidity through debt, equity, including the issuance of equity pursuant to our ATM Program, strategic relationships or other arrangements on terms available or acceptable to us, our rate of revenue growth, our construction of IRCs and vending machines, the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and software development efforts, our advertising spend, and increased population coverage. If we need to obtain supplemental liquidity, there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us in the future.
On July 19, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement (the "Distribution Agreement") to establish an ATM Program, and on July 31, 2024, the Company refreshed the ATM Program by entering into an Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Moelis & Company LLC, and Virtu Americas LLC. Under the ATM Program as of December 31, 2024, the Company could sell up to the greater of (i) shares of Class A common stock representing an aggregate offering price of $1.0 billion, or (ii) an aggregate of 35 million shares of Class A common stock, from time to time. In the year ended December 31, 2024, we issued 6.8 million shares of Class A common stock at a weighted-average issuance price per share of $186.56, for gross proceeds of $1.3 billion, which we are using for general corporate purposes. However, there can be no assurance that we will sell further shares of Class A common stock through the ATM Program, or otherwise. See Item 9B “Other Information” for a description of amendments to the ATM Program after December 31, 2024.
Finally, subject to the restrictions in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes, we or our affiliates have and may again, at any time, and from time to time, repurchase shares of our Class A common stock, our Senior Unsecured Notes, our Senior Secured Notes, or any other securities we may issue, from time to time, in open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, in exchange for property or other securities or otherwise. In addition, subject to the restrictions in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes and the terms of such notes and our Senior Unsecured Notes, we have and may again, redeem all or portions of such notes. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we repurchased and cancelled $370 million of principal amount of 2028 Senior Secured Notes and redeemed $100 million of 2028 Senior Secured Notes. Any additional repurchase or redemption decisions will be made after consideration of market conditions and liquidity needs and will be upon such terms and at such prices as we determine appropriate. However, there is no guarantee that a repurchase or redemption will take place.
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Liquidity Resources
We had the following committed liquidity resources, secured debt capacity, and other unpledged assets available as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 1,716 | $ | 530 | ||
| Availability under short-term revolving facilities (1) | 1,879 | 1,006 | ||||
| Committed liquidity resources available | $ | 3,595 | $ | 1,536 | ||
| Super senior debt capacity | 1,500 | 1,262 | ||||
| Pari passu senior debt capacity | 485 | 250 | ||||
| Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations | 110 | 80 | ||||
| Total liquidity resources | $ | 5,690 | $ | 3,128 |
(1) Based on pledging all eligible vehicles and finance receivables under the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivables Facilities, excluding the impact to restricted cash requirements.
Our total liquidity potential is composed of cash and cash equivalents, availability under existing credit facilities, additional capacity under the indentures governing our Senior Secured Notes, which allow us to incur additional debt that can be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes, and additional unpledged securities that can be financed using traditional asset-based financing sources.
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash deposits and highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as money market funds.
Availability under short-term revolving facilities is the available amount we can borrow under the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivable Facilities based on the value of pledgeable vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date. Availability under short-term revolving facilities is distinct from the total commitment amount of these facilities because it represents the amount we are able to borrow as of period end, rather than committed future amounts that could be borrowed to finance future additional assets. Effective November 1, 2023, we amended our vehicle inventory Floor Plan Facility to resize the line of credit to $1.5 billion through April 30, 2025.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the short-term revolving facilities had a total commitment of $4.2 billion each period, an outstanding balance of $67 million and $668 million, respectively, and unused capacity of $4.1 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively.
Super senior debt capacity and pari passu senior debt capacity represents basket capacity to incur additional debt that could be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes. The availability of such additional sources depends on many factors and there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available to us in the future.
Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations includes retained beneficial interests in securitizations that have not been previously pledged or sold. We historically have financed the majority of our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and expect to continue to do so in the future.
Additionally, in January 2025, we amended our Master Purchase and Sale Agreement to, among other things, reestablish the commitment by the purchaser to purchase up to $4.0 billion of principal balances of finance receivables between January 3, 2025 and January 2, 2026. See Note 8 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for discussion regarding principal balances and unused capacity under the Master Purchase and Sale Agreement.
To optimize our cost of capital, in any given period we may choose not to maximize borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities, maximize revolving commitment size, or immediately sale-leaseback real estate; and we may also choose to
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retain beneficial interests in securitizations for varying amounts of time. This has the benefit of reducing interest expense and debt issuance costs and providing flexibility to minimize financing costs over time.
We consider our total liquidity resources as an input into our planning. In general, changes in total liquidity resources fall into two broad categories: changes due to current business operations and changes due to investments in automotive retail assets.
Changes in liquidity due to current business operations include impacts from fluctuations in Adjusted EBITDA, non-real estate capital expenditures, including technology, furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and changes in traditional working capital, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.
In the ordinary course of business, we sponsor and engage in securitization transactions to sell our finance receivables to a diverse pool of investors. These securitizations involve unconsolidated variable interest entities in which we retain at least 5% of the credit risk of the underlying finance receivable by holding at least 5% of the notes and certificates issued by these entities. We are exposed to market risk in the securitization market. See Note 9 — Securitizations and Variable Interest Entities, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our transactions with unconsolidated variable interest entities.
In addition we also invest in and generate several types of assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and real estate. To maximize capital efficiency, we generally seek to finance these assets with matched sources of asset-based financing, including short-term revolving facilities for vehicle inventory and finance receivables, beneficial interests financing for retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and sale-leaseback or other real estate financing for IRCs and vending machines. We have historically used these sources of financing to finance our investment in these assets and expect to continue to do so in the future.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our outstanding principal amount of indebtedness was $5.5 billion and $6.0 billion, respectively, summarized in the table below. See Note 10 — Debt Instruments and Note 16 — Leases of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our debt.
| December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| (in millions) | |||||
| Asset-Based Financing: | |||||
| Floor plan facility | $ | 67 | $ | 113 | |
| Finance receivable facilities | — | 555 | |||
| Financing of beneficial interests in securitizations | 354 | 293 | |||
| Real estate financing | 485 | 485 | |||
| Total asset-based financing | 906 | 1,446 | |||
| Senior Secured Notes (1) | 4,358 | 4,378 | |||
| Senior Unsecured Notes | 205 | 205 | |||
| Total debt | 5,469 | 6,029 | |||
| Less: current portion | (302) | (777) | |||
| Less: unamortized debt issuance costs (2) | (46) | (60) | |||
| Plus: unamortized premium (3) | 27 | 37 | |||
| Total included in long-term debt, net | $ | 5,148 | $ | 5,229 |
(1) Includes $105 million and $185 million of accrued paid-in-kind ("PIK") interest as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Accrued PIK interest increases the principal amount of Senior Secured Notes on each semi-annual interest payment date.
(2) The unamortized debt issuance costs related to long-term debt are presented as a reduction of the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving debt arrangements are presented within other assets on our consolidated balance sheets and not included here.
(3) The unamortized premium relates to a portion of the notes exchange offers completed in September 2023 which were accounted for as a debt modification.
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Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 918 | $ | 803 | ||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (13) | 31 | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 261 | (868) | ||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 1,166 | (34) | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 594 | 628 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 1,760 | $ | 594 |
Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows result from the sales of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and other complementary products. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are purchases of inventory, personnel-related expenses, and cash used to acquire customers. Cash provided by operating activities was $918 million and $803 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, an increase in cash provided by operating activities of $115 million, primarily due to an improvement in operating results and a $274 million reduction in interest paid due to higher PIK interest on the Senior Secured Notes in the year ended December 31, 2024, partially offset by increased vehicle inventory acquisitions and a lower ratio of finance receivables sold relative to originations of finance receivables.
Investing Activities
Our primary use of cash for investing activities is purchases of property and equipment. Cash used in and provided by investing activities was $13 million and $31 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, an increase in cash used in investing activities of $44 million, primarily driven by lower proceeds received from the sale of property and equipment in the year ended December 31, 2024, partially offset by increased principal payments received on and proceeds from the sale of beneficial interests in securitizations during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to our short and long-term debt activity, including proceeds from and payments on our short-term revolving facilities. Cash provided by and used in financing activities was $261 million and $868 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, an increase in cash provided by financing activities of $1.1 billion primarily driven by higher net proceeds from our ATM Program and lower reliance on short-term revolving facilities during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We are party to contractual obligations involving commitments to third parties for which we believe we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and meet our obligations as they come due. These contractual obligations impact our liquidity and future capital requirements and primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, leases, short-term revolving facilities, financing of beneficial interests in securitizations, and other purchase obligations and commitments. See Note 8 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, Note 10 — Debt Instruments, Note 16 — Leases, and Note 17 — Commitments and Contingencies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information related to these contractual obligations and commitments.
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Fair Value Measurements
We report money market securities, certain receivables, warrants to acquire Root's Class A common stock and beneficial interests in securitizations at fair value. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statement and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have a material impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the recognition of income and expenses. The estimates and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The significant accounting estimates which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operation are described below. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more detailed information regarding our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We sell retail vehicles directly to our customers through our website. We recognize revenue upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by a customer at the agreed upon purchase price stated in the contract, including any delivery charges, less an estimate for returns. Our return policy allows customers to initiate a return during the first seven days after delivery. Estimates for returns are based on an analysis of historical experience, trends and sales data. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Customers purchasing retail vehicles from us may enter into contracts for VSCs and, if they finance with us, GAP waiver coverage. The prices of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage are set forth in each contract. We sell and receive a commission on VSCs under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we sell VSCs that DriveTime administers and is the obligor. We receive a commission on GAP waiver coverage contracts where the administrator of the contract is obligated to reimburse the holder of the underlying finance receivable for a balance that is in excess of the value of the financed vehicle in the event of a total loss. We recognize commission revenue at the time of sale, net of a reserve for estimated contract cancellations. Our risk related to contract cancellations is limited to the commissions that we receive. Cancellations fluctuate depending on the customer-financing default or prepayment rates, and shifts in customer behavior, including those related to changes in the coverage or term of the product. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our contract cancellation reserves. The reserve for cancellations of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage is estimated based upon historical experience and recent trends and is reflected as a reduction of other sales and revenues. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Under the master dealer agreement with DriveTime, we are also contractually entitled to receive profit-sharing revenues based on the performance of the VSCs once a required claims period has passed. This is a form of variable consideration we recognize as revenue to the extent that it is probable that it will not result in a significant revenue reversal. We apply the expected value method, utilizing expected VSC performance based on historical claims and cancellation data from our customers, as well as other qualitative assumptions to estimate the amount we expect to receive. We reassess the estimate each reporting period with any changes reflected as an adjustment to other sales and revenues in the period identified. Profit-sharing payments will begin when the underlying VSCs reach a specified level of claims history.
Finance Receivables
Finance receivables include installment contracts we originate to facilitate vehicle sales. We classify these receivables as held for sale, as we do not intend to hold the finance receivables we originate to maturity. We typically sell the finance
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receivables we originate. We record a valuation allowance to report finance receivables at the lower of unpaid principal balance or fair value. To determine the fair value of finance receivables we utilize industry-standard modeling, such as discounted cash flow analysis, factoring in our historical experience, the credit quality of the underlying receivables, loss trends and recovery rates, as well as the overall economic environment. For purposes of determining the valuation allowance, finance receivables are evaluated collectively to determine the allowance as they represent a large group of smaller-balance homogeneous loans. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our valuation allowance. Principal balances of finance receivables are charged-off when we are unable to sell the finance receivable and the related vehicle has been repossessed and liquidated or the receivable has otherwise been deemed uncollectible. The estimates and trends used have historically been effective in our determination of our valuation allowance.
Beneficial Interests in Securitizations
The Company's beneficial interests in securitizations include rated notes and certificates and other assets, all of which are classified as Level 3 due to the lack of observable market data. The Company determines the fair value of its rated notes based on non-binding broker quotes. The non-binding broker quotes are based on models that consider the prevailing interest rates, recent market transactions, and current business conditions. The Company determines the fair value of its certificates and other assets using a combination of non-binding market quotes and internally developed discounted cash flow models. The discounted cash flow models use discount rates based on prevailing interest rates and the characteristics of the specific instruments. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the discount rates.
Significant increases or decreases in the inputs to the models could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The Company elected the fair value option on its beneficial interests in securitizations, which allows it to recognize changes in the fair value of these assets in the period the fair value changes resulting in a gain or loss in that period.
Valuation of Inventory
Vehicle inventory consists of used vehicles, primarily acquired directly from customers and at auction. Direct and indirect vehicle reconditioning costs including parts and labor, inbound transportation costs and other incremental costs are capitalized as a component of inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Vehicle inventory cost is determined by specific identification. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price less costs to complete, dispose and transport the vehicles. Selling prices are derived from historical data and trends, such as sales price and inventory turn times of similar vehicles, as well as independent market resources. Each reporting period we recognize any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value through cost of sales. To the extent that there are significant changes to estimated vehicle selling prices or decreases in demand for used vehicles, there could be significant adjustments to reflect our inventory at net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes pursuant to the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities related to the expected future tax consequences arising from temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Any effects of changes in income tax rates or laws are included in income tax expense in the period of enactment. We reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the evidence available, both positive and negative, as well as the objectivity and verifiability of that evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of our deferred tax assets will not be realized. The assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry forward periods by jurisdiction, our experience with loss carryforwards not expiring unutilized, and all tax-planning alternatives that may be available.
Tax Receivable Agreement
Our TRA liability is determined and recorded in accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies, which requires the determination of whether the liability is both probable and reasonably estimable. The primary consideration is our usage of deferred tax assets, which currently have a full valuation allowance applied against them. As such, we recognized a TRA liability of $82 million and $14 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which represents the portion of the liability that is probable and reasonably estimable. For the remaining $2.0 billion TRA liability as of December 31, 2024, we determined that it was more likely than not that our deferred tax assets subject to the TRA would not be realized.
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Business Combination Purchase Price Allocation
The purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition, with the excess purchase price being recorded as goodwill. The allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired is specifically complex because of the significant estimates and assumptions involved in determining their fair values. Due to this higher degree of complexity, we obtained the assistance of outside valuation experts in the allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. While outside valuation experts were used, management has the ultimate responsibility for the valuation methods, models and inputs used and the resulting purchase price allocation. Critical estimates used in valuing tangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, the similarity of the acquired real property to market comparable transactions, costs of similar personal property in new condition, and economic obsolescence rates. Critical estimates used in valuing identifiable intangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, revenues and attrition rate.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001690820-24-000093.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Part I, including matters set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Form 10-K. Except when stated otherwise, we present the discussion in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on a consolidated basis.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Each element of our business, from inventory procurement to fulfillment and overall ease of the online transaction, has been built for this singular purpose.
See Part I, Item 1 - "Business" for a detailed description and discussion of the Company's business.
Refer to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023 for discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Retail Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have historically experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. Due to profitability initiatives and macroeconomic impacts, including high interest rates during the year ended December 31, 2023, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers decreased by 24.1% to 312,847, compared to 412,296 in the year ended December 31, 2022.
While our current focus is on profitability, we view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important long-term measure of our performance, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to efficiently increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, the sale of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
•Retail units sold are an important driver of the average number of days between when we acquire the vehicle and when we sell it. Reducing average days to sale impacts gross profit on our vehicles because used vehicles generally depreciate over time.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
While our near-term objectives are geared towards a reduction in our selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses, in the long term, we plan to invest in technology and infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as continued investment in product development and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
Markets and Population Coverage
Our historical growth in retail units sold was driven by increased penetration in our existing markets and expansion into new markets. We define a market as a metropolitan area in which we have commenced local advertising and generally offer home delivery to customers with a Carvana employee in a branded delivery truck. We define our population coverage as the
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percentage of the U.S. population that lives within those markets. Opening a new market involves hiring a team of customer advocates, connecting the market to our existing logistics network and initiating advertising, both locally through a blend of brand and direct advertising channels, and on national television for increased brand awareness. As a market scales, we may elect to build a vending machine in the market to further increase customer awareness and enhance our fulfillment operations. Our advertising spend in each market is approximately proportionate to each market's population, subject to our profitability initiatives and adjustments based on specific characteristics of the market, used vehicle market seasonality, and special events such as vending machine openings.
We served 316 markets as of December 31, 2023, covering 81.1% of the U.S. population. Over time, we have continually improved our market expansion playbook, which we believe provides us with the capability to efficiently execute our long-term growth plan. While we are currently focused on driving profitability through efficiency and expense reduction, we are continually evaluating consumer demand, our operational capacity and our long-term growth plan to determine our market opening and vending machine launch strategy.
Revenue and Gross Profit
We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the retail vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, including sales through our wholesale marketplace, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, and sales of ancillary products such as VSCs and GAP waiver coverage.
Our largest source of revenue, retail vehicle sales, totaled $7.5 billion and $10.3 billion during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We generally expect retail vehicle sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. We generate gross profit on retail vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale.
Wholesale sales and revenues includes sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory. Subsequent to the ADESA Acquisition, we also include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by non-Carvana sellers and buyers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related service revenues, in wholesale sales and revenues. Wholesale sales and revenues totaled $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We generally expect wholesale sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold through trade-ins and from customers who wish to sell us a car independent of a retail sale and with the movement of wholesale marketplace units. We generate gross profit on wholesale vehicle sales from the difference between the wholesale selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. We generate a gross profit on wholesale marketplace units from the difference between the revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units through our wholesale marketplace platform less our cost of sales associated with operating the wholesale marketplace platform.
Other sales and revenues, which primarily includes gains on the sales of finance receivables we originate and sales commissions on ancillary products such as VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, totaled $753 million and $741 million during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We generally expect other sales and revenues to trend proportionately with retail units sold. We also expect other sales and revenues to increase as we improve our ability to monetize loans we originate, including through securitization transactions, and sell and offer attractive financing solutions and ancillary products to our customers, including products customarily sold by automotive retailers or insurance products customarily sold by traditional insurance companies, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. Other sales and revenues are 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue.
During the current macroeconomic uncertainty, our highest priority will continue to be providing exceptional customer experiences while improving efficiency and utilizing our infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold, to help us move along the path to achieve sustained profitability and positive free cash flow. Secondarily, we plan to pursue several strategies designed to increase our brand awareness and total gross profit per unit. These strategies may include the following:
•Increase the purchase of vehicles from customers. Over time, we plan to grow the number of vehicles that we purchase from our customers as trade-ins or independent of a retail sale. This will provide additional vehicles for our retail business, which on average are more profitable compared to the same vehicle acquired at auction, and expand our inventory selection. In addition, this in turn will grow our wholesale business.
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•Reduce average days to sale. Our goal is generally to increase our sales at a faster rate than we increase our inventory size, which we believe would decrease average days to sale due to a relative increase in demand versus supply. Reductions in average days to sale lead to fewer vehicle price reductions, and therefore higher average selling prices, all other factors being equal. Higher average selling prices in turn lead to higher gross profit per unit sold, all other factors being equal.
•Leverage existing inspection and reconditioning infrastructure. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity at our existing IRCs and auction locations with reconditioning capacity, which collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition approximately 1.3 million vehicles per year at full utilization.
•Expand our logistics network. As we scale, we intend to further expand our in-house logistics network to transport cars to our IRCs or other sites after acquisition from customers or wholesale auctions.
•Increase conversion on existing products. We plan to continue to improve our website to highlight the benefits of our complementary product offerings, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and trade-ins.
•Add new products and services. We plan to utilize our online sales platform to offer additional complementary products and services to our customers.
•Increase monetization of our finance receivables. We plan to continue selling finance receivables in securitization transactions and otherwise expand our base of financial partners who purchase the finance receivables originated on our platform to reduce our effective cost of funds.
•Optimize purchasing and pricing. We are constantly improving the ways in which we predict customer demand, value vehicles sight unseen and optimize what we pay to acquire those vehicles. We also regularly test different pricing of our products, including vehicle sticker prices, trade-in and independent vehicle offers, and ancillary product prices, and we believe we can improve by further optimizing prices over time.
Seasonality
Retail and wholesale used vehicle sales generally exhibit seasonality with sales peaking late in the first calendar quarter and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. Due to our historical rapid growth, our overall sales patterns in the past have not always reflected the general seasonality of the used vehicle industry. However, as our business and markets have continued to mature, our results have become more reflective of typical market seasonality. Used vehicle prices also exhibit seasonality, with used vehicles depreciating at a faster rate in the last two quarters of each year and a slower rate in the first two quarters of each year, all other factors being equal. We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, including as a result of macroeconomic conditions, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
Investment in Growth
We have historically aggressively invested in the growth of our business. Due to the current macroeconomic environment, we are focused on driving profitability through operating efficiency and reducing expenses in the short-term. While we intend to become increasingly efficient over time, we also anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially as we return to growth and continue to expand our logistics network, increase our advertising spending, and serve more of the U.S. population. There is no guarantee that we will be able to realize the desired return on our investments.
Relationships with Related Parties
For discussion about our relationships with related parties, refer to Note 7 — Related Party Transactions of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Proxy Statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
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Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our progress and make strategic decisions. Our key operating metrics reflect the key drivers of our growth, including increasing brand awareness, enhancing the selection of vehicles we make available to our customers, and serving more of the U.S. population. Our key operating metrics also demonstrate our ability to translate these drivers into retail sales and to monetize these retail sales through a variety of product offerings.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Retail units sold | 312,847 | 412,296 | ||||
| Average monthly unique visitors (in thousands) | 14,581 | 21,763 | ||||
| Total website units | 33,075 | 63,992 | ||||
| Total gross profit per unit | $ | 5,511 | $ | 3,022 | ||
| Total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP | $ | 5,984 | $ | 3,337 |
Retail Units Sold
We define retail units sold as the number of vehicles sold to customers in a given period, net of returns under our seven-day return policy. We view retail units sold as a key measure of our growth for several reasons. First, retail units sold is the primary driver of our revenues and, indirectly, gross profit, since retail unit sales enable multiple complementary revenue streams, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and trade-ins. Second, growth in retail units sold increases the base of available customers for referrals and repeat sales. Third, growth in retail units sold is an indicator of our ability to successfully scale our logistics, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
Average Monthly Unique Visitors
We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website within a calendar month, based on data provided by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the strength of our brand, the effectiveness of our advertising and merchandising campaigns, and consumer awareness of our brand.
Total Website Units
We define total website units as the number of vehicles listed on our website on the last day of a given reporting period, including vehicles available for sale, vehicles currently engaged in a purchase or reserved by a customer, and vehicles that can be reserved that generally have not yet completed the inspection and reconditioning process. We view total website units as a key measure of our growth. Growth in total website units increases the selection of vehicles available to our consumers, which we believe will allow us to increase the number of vehicles we sell over time. Moreover, growth in total website units indicates our ability to scale our vehicle purchasing, inspection and reconditioning operations. As part of our inventory strategy, over time we may choose not to expand total website units while continuing to grow sales, thereby improving other key operating metrics of the business.
Total Gross Profit per Unit
We define total gross profit per unit as the aggregate gross profit in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period, including gross profit generated from the sale of retail vehicles, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, commissions on sales of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage and other ancillary products, and gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles. We operate an integrated business with the objective of increasing the number of retail units sold and total gross profit per unit. Gross profits generated from the sale of retail and wholesale units are interrelated. For example, our nationwide reconditioning and inspection centers are designed to produce vehicles for both retail and wholesale sales, our vehicle storage locations have shared parking for both retail and wholesale vehicles, and our integrated multi-vehicle logistics and last mile delivery network is operated in service of both retail and wholesale sales. Such interrelationships require us to share finite operational capacity and optimize joint decisions between retail and wholesale sales, in order to position us to achieve our objective of increasing total gross profit per unit. As a result, the inclusion of gross profit generated from wholesale
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sales of vehicles in total gross profit per unit reflects our integrated business model and the interrelationship between wholesale and retail vehicle sales. We believe the total gross profit per unit metrics provide investors with the greatest opportunity to view our performance through the same lens that our management does, and therefore assists investors to best evaluate our business and measure our progress.
Total Gross Profit per Unit, Non-GAAP
We define total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP as the aggregate gross profit, non-GAAP in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period. Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as gross profit plus depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift (as defined below) in cost of sales, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to warrants to purchase shares of Root's Class A common stock (the "Root Warrants") as discussed in Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information, including the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP").
Components of Results of Operations
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales represent the aggregate sales of used vehicles to customers through our website. Revenue from retail vehicle sales is recognized upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by the customer, and is reported net of a reserve for expected returns. Factors affecting retail vehicle sales revenue include the number of retail units sold and the average selling price of these vehicles. Changes in retail units sold are a much larger driver of changes in revenue than are changes in average selling price.
The number of retail vehicles we sell depends on the volume of traffic to our website, our population coverage, our inventory selection, the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts, the quality of our customers' purchase experience, our volume of referrals and repeat customers, the competitiveness of our pricing, competition from other used car dealerships and general macroeconomic and used car industry conditions. On a quarterly basis, the number of retail vehicles we sell is also affected by seasonality, with demand for retail vehicles generally reaching a seasonal high point late in the first quarter of each year, commensurate with the timing of tax refunds, and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of retail vehicle sales generally expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. In 2022, heightened inflation and rising interest rates resulted in lower demand for used vehicles. These trends continued into 2023, in which retail vehicle sales were also affected by a lower inventory size, lower advertising expense, and a focus on profitability initiatives.
Our retail average selling price depends on macroeconomic and used car industry conditions, the mix of vehicles we acquire, retail prices in our markets, our pricing strategy, and our average days to sale. We may choose to shift our inventory mix to higher or lower cost vehicles, or to raise or lower our prices relative to market to take advantage of supply or demand imbalances, which could temporarily lead to average selling prices increasing or decreasing. We also generally expect lower average days to sale to be associated with higher retail average selling prices due to decreased vehicle depreciation prior to sale, all other factors being equal.
Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues includes the aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles we acquire and sell to wholesalers, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace revenues. The vehicles we sell to wholesalers are primarily acquired from customers who sell a vehicle to us without purchasing a retail vehicle and from our customers who trade-in their existing vehicles when making a purchase from us. Factors affecting wholesale sales and revenues include the number of wholesale units sold and the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles. The average selling price of our wholesale units is primarily driven by the mix of vehicles we sell to wholesalers, as well as general supply and demand conditions in the applicable wholesale vehicle market. Wholesale sales and revenues includes aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to DriveTime through competitive online auctions that are managed by an unrelated third party and through the Company's wholesale marketplace platform. Wholesale marketplace revenues include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers to buyers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related services revenue.
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Other Sales and Revenues
We generate other sales and revenues primarily through the sales of loans we originate and sell in securitization transactions or to financing partners, reported net of a reserve for expected repurchases, commissions we receive on VSCs, sales of GAP waiver coverage, and commissions and Root Warrants we receive on sales of auto insurance.
We generally seek to sell the loans we originate to securitization trusts we sponsor and establish or to financing partners. The securitization trusts issue asset-backed securities, some of which are collateralized by the finance receivables that we sell to the securitization trusts. We also sell the loans we originate under committed forward-flow arrangements, including a master purchase and sale agreement, and through fixed pool loan sales, with financing partners who generally acquire them at premium prices without recourse to us for their post-sale performance. Factors affecting revenue from these sales include the number of loans we originate, the average principal balance of the loans, the credit quality of the portfolio, the price at which we are able to sell them in securitization transactions or to financing partners, and economic conditions in the capital markets.
The number of loans we originate is driven by the number of retail vehicles sold and the percentage of our sales for which we provide financing, which is influenced by the financing terms we offer our customers relative to alternatives available to the customer. The average principal balance is driven primarily by the mix of vehicles we sell, since higher average selling prices typically mean higher average balances. The price at which we sell the loan is driven by the terms of our securitization transactions and forward-flow arrangement, applicable interest rates, and whether or not the loan includes GAP waiver coverage.
In 2016, we entered into a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we receive a commission for selling VSCs that DriveTime administers. The commission revenue we recognize on VSCs depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of VSCs on these sales, commission rates we receive, VSC early cancellation frequency and product features. The GAP waiver coverage revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the number of customers that choose to finance their purchases with us, the frequency of GAP waiver coverage early cancellation, and the conversion rate of GAP waiver coverage on those sales.
In September 2022, we completed our integrated auto insurance solution with Root (the "Integrated Platform"), through which customers may conveniently access auto insurance directly from the Carvana e-commerce platform. We receive commissions and Root Warrants based on the Root insurance policies sold through the Integrated Platform. The commission revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of auto policies on those sales, commission rates we receive, and forecasted attrition. The revenue we recognize from Root Warrants as non-cash consideration depends on the probability of achieving certain auto policy sales thresholds within a specific timeline as well as our performance under the agreement with Root.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the cost to acquire, recondition, and transport vehicles associated with preparing them for resale, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Vehicle acquisition costs are driven by the mix of vehicles we acquire, the source of those vehicles, and supply-and-demand dynamics in the vehicle market. Reconditioning costs consist of direct costs, including parts, labor, and third-party repair expenses directly attributable to specific vehicles, as well as indirect costs, such as IRC overhead. Transportation costs consist of costs incurred to transport the vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC or other site. Cost of sales also includes any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Wholesale marketplace cost of sales include costs related to the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including labor, rent, depreciation and amortization.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our costs of sales associated with vehicles that we list and sell on our website. Retail vehicle gross profit per unit is our aggregate retail vehicle gross profit in any measurement period divided by the number of retail units sold in that period.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our cost of sales associated with vehicles we sell to wholesalers, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace revenues less wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Factors affecting wholesale gross
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profit include the number of wholesale units sold, the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, the average acquisition price associated with these vehicles, the buyer and seller fees, and the number of wholesale marketplace units sold.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in revenues from these products and the associated drivers.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses include expenses associated with advertising and providing customer service to customers, operating our vending machines, hubs, physical auctions, logistics and fulfillment network and other corporate overhead expenses, including expenses associated with information technology, product development, engineering, legal, accounting, finance, and business development. SG&A expenses exclude the costs of inspecting and reconditioning vehicles and transporting vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC, which are included in cost of sales, and payroll costs for our employees related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Interest Expense
Interest expense includes interest incurred on our various tranches of Senior Secured Notes and Senior Unsecured Notes, our Floor Plan Facility, and our Finance Receivable Facilities (each as defined in Note 10 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), as well as our notes payable, finance leases, and long-term debt, which are used to fund general working capital, our inventory, our transportation fleet, and certain of our property and equipment. Interest expense also includes amortization of capitalized debt issuance costs, which is offset by amortization of debt premium and interest income earned on cash and cash equivalents. Interest expense excludes the interest incurred during various construction projects to build, upgrade, or remodel certain facilities, which is capitalized to property and equipment and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net includes changes in fair value on our beneficial interests in securitizations, purchase price adjustment receivables, and fair value adjustments related to our Root Warrants as discussed in Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, along with other general expenses such as gains or losses from disposals of long-lived assets. During the year ended December 31, 2023, other (income) expense, net also includes expense related to the recognition of our Tax Receivable Agreement reserve.
Income Tax Provision
Income taxes are recognized based upon our anticipated underlying annual blended federal and state income tax rates adjusted, as necessary, for any discrete tax matters occurring during the period. As the sole managing member of Carvana Group, LLC (together with its subsidiaries “Carvana Group”), Carvana Co. consolidates the financial results of Carvana Group. Carvana Group, LLC is treated as a partnership and therefore not subject to U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Carvana Group is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including Carvana Co., based on its economic interest held in Carvana Group. Carvana Co. is taxed as a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Carvana Group, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by Carvana Co. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company generated income tax expense of $25 million and $1 million, respectively.
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Results of Operations
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net sales and operating revenues: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle sales, net | $ | 7,514 | $ | 10,254 | (26.7) | % | ||||
| Wholesale sales and revenues (1) | 2,504 | 2,609 | (4.0) | % | ||||||
| Other sales and revenues (2) | 753 | 741 | 1.6 | % | ||||||
| Total net sales and operating revenues | $ | 10,771 | $ | 13,604 | (20.8) | % | ||||
| Gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit (3) | $ | 746 | $ | 371 | 101.1 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit (1) | 225 | 134 | 67.9 | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit (2) | 753 | 741 | 1.6 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 1,724 | $ | 1,246 | 38.4 | % | ||||
| Unit sales information: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 312,847 | 412,296 | (24.1) | % | ||||||
| Wholesale vehicle unit sales | 156,545 | 193,260 | (19.0) | % | ||||||
| Per unit selling prices: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicles | $ | 24,018 | $ | 24,870 | (3.4) | % | ||||
| Wholesale vehicles (4) | $ | 10,527 | $ | 10,965 | (4.0) | % | ||||
| Per retail unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit (5) | $ | 2,385 | $ | 900 | 165.0 | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit | 719 | 325 | 121.2 | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit | 2,407 | 1,797 | 33.9 | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 5,511 | $ | 3,022 | 82.4 | % | ||||
| Per wholesale unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit (6) | $ | 888 | $ | 580 | 53.1 | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale marketplace units sold | 871,200 | 485,333 | NM | |||||||
| Wholesale marketplace revenues | $ | 856 | $ | 490 | NM | |||||
| Wholesale marketplace gross profit (7) | $ | 86 | $ | 22 | NM |
(1) Includes $19 and $32, respectively, of wholesale sales and revenues from related parties.
(2) Includes $145 and $176, respectively, of other sales and revenues from related parties.
(3) Includes $0 and $16, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to a commitment by the Company’s CEO, Ernest Garcia III to grant all employees as of January 5, 2022, 23 shares of Class A common stock from his personal shareholdings once employees reach their two-year employment anniversary (the “CEO Milestone Gift” or the “Gift”).
(4) Excludes wholesale marketplace revenues and wholesale marketplace units sold.
(5) Includes $0 and $39, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to the CEO Milestone Gift.
(6) Excludes wholesale marketplace gross profit and wholesale marketplace units sold.
(7) Includes $102 and $62, respectively, of depreciation and amortization expense.
NM = Not Meaningful (For the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, only includes wholesale marketplace data from the date of the ADESA Acquisition of May 9, 2022.)
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales decreased by $2.74 billion to $7.51 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $10.25 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in revenue was primarily due to a decrease in the
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number of retail vehicles sold to 312,847 from 412,296 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in retail units sold was driven by various macroeconomic factors including increased interest rates and inflation, leading to decreased vehicle affordability, as well as our increased focus on profitability initiatives, which have led to lower advertising levels and inventory size. Additionally, there was a decrease in the average selling price of our retail units sold to $24,018 in the year ended December 31, 2023 from $24,870 in the prior year, due primarily to overall depreciation in the used vehicle market, despite improvements in turn times compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.
Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues decreased by $105 million to $2.5 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $2.6 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022. Wholesale marketplace revenues, which were only included in our results from operations subsequent to the ADESA Acquisition, were higher during the year ended December 31, 2023 at $856 million, compared to $490 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to an increase in wholesale marketplace units sold to 871,200 during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 485,333 during the year ended December 31, 2022. This was offset by a decrease in wholesale units sold that were acquired from customers on our website to 156,545 from 193,260 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Other Sales and Revenues
Other sales and revenues increased by $12 million to $753 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $741 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in gain on loan sales as a result of more loan sales during the year ended December 31, 2023, higher interest income due to higher levels of finance receivables held for sale during the year, and revenue related to our Root Warrants. This increase was partially offset by the decrease in retail units sold during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit increased by $375 million to $746 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $371 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in retail vehicle gross profit per unit to $2,385 for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $900 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The per unit increase was primarily driven by lower average days to sale and lower reconditioning and inbound transport costs on retail vehicles sold during the year ended December 31, 2023 as part of our profitability initiatives.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit increased by $91 million to $225 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $134 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in wholesale marketplace gross profit by $64 million to $86 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $22 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, which only included the results of ADESA subsequent to acquisition. Additionally, the increase was driven by an increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $888 from $580 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in wholesale units sold to 156,545 from 193,260, respectively. The increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit was primarily a result of lower acquisition costs of wholesale vehicles sold during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in other gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in other sales and revenues and the associated drivers.
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Components of SG&A
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits (1) | $ | 662 | $ | 917 | ||
| CEO Milestone Gift (2) | (1) | 26 | ||||
| Advertising | 228 | 490 | ||||
| Market occupancy (3) | 71 | 93 | ||||
| Logistics (4) | 119 | 235 | ||||
| Other (5) | 717 | 975 | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,796 | $ | 2,736 |
(1) Compensation and benefits includes all payroll and related costs, including benefits, payroll taxes, and equity-based compensation, except those related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales, and those related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
(2) CEO Milestone Gift includes all equity-based compensation and payroll tax costs associated with the Gift, except those Gift costs related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales.
(3) Market occupancy costs includes occupancy costs of our vending machine and hubs. It excludes occupancy costs related to reconditioning vehicles which are included in cost of sales and the portion related to corporate occupancy which are included in other costs.
(4) Logistics includes fuel, maintenance and depreciation related to operating our own transportation fleet, and third-party transportation fees, except the portion related to inbound transportation, which is included in cost of sales.
(5) Other costs include all other selling, general and administrative expenses such as IT expenses, corporate occupancy, professional services and insurance, limited warranty, and title and registration.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $940 million to $1.8 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $2.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022. During 2022, we implemented a number of profitability initiatives to reduce selling, general and administrative expenses, which continued throughout 2023 and included reducing our employee headcount, integrating real estate acquired as part of the ADESA Acquisition and reducing our corporate office footprint, and improving the targeting of our advertising spend. In addition, the reduction in retail units sold contributed to reductions in several categories of selling, general and administrative expenses.
During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we realized a benefit of $1 million and an expense of $26 million, respectively, related to the CEO Milestone Gift within selling, general and administrative expense, which is presented separately above, as a result of more forfeitures than employees continuing to vest.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $146 million to $632 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $486 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to increased interest associated with the Senior Secured Notes.
Gain on Debt Extinguishment
Gain on debt extinguishment was $878 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to the exchange of $5.5 billion in principal of Senior Unsecured Notes for $4.2 billion in principal of Senior Secured Notes and $341 million in cash, along with the write off of $66 million of debt issuance costs and a $40 million deferred premium on a portion of the Senior Secured Notes.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net changed by $71 million to income of $1 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to an expense of $70 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The change was primarily due to an expense related to the fair value associated with our Root Warrants during the year ended December 31, 2022, partially offset by a tax receivable agreement expense associated with the gain recognized on the Offers (as defined in Note 10 — Debt Instruments of
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our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K).
Income Tax Provision
Income tax provision increased by $24 million to $25 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to the income tax expense related to the cancellation of debt income recognized on the exchange of $5.5 billion in principal of Senior Unsecured Notes for $4.2 billion in principal of Senior Secured Notes and $341 million in cash.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we also present the following non-GAAP measures: Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss), gross profit, or SG&A, as determined by GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus income tax provision, interest expense, other (income) expense, net, depreciation and amortization in cost of sales and SG&A, goodwill impairment, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in cost of sales and SG&A, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to our Root Warrants and gain on debt extinguishment. Following the ADESA Acquisition, we are also excluding depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, which was historically only a small component of cost of sales. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP gross profit plus depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in cost of sales, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to our Root Warrants. Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP is Gross profit, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
SG&A, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP SG&A minus depreciation and amortization in SG&A, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in SG&A, and restructuring costs. Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP is SG&A, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
We use these non-GAAP measures to measure the operating performance of our business as a whole and relative to our total revenues and retail vehicle unit sales. We believe that these metrics are useful measures to us and to our investors because they exclude certain financial, capital structure, and non-cash items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations, in part because they may vary widely across time and within our industry independent of the performance of our core operations. We believe that excluding these items enables us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period and relative to our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP may not be comparable to similarly titled measures provided by other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculations.
A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), Gross profit, non-GAAP to gross profit, and SG&A, non-GAAP to SG&A, which are the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and calculations of Adjusted EBITDA margin, Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP, and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP is as follows:
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| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 150 | $ | (2,894) | $ | (287) | ||||
| Income tax provision | 25 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 632 | 486 | 176 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (1) | 70 | 6 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 169 | 114 | 24 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A | 183 | 200 | 105 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | — | 16 | — | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A | 73 | 69 | 39 | |||||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | 847 | — | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (21) | (7) | — | |||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | (878) | — | — | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | 7 | 57 | — | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 339 | $ | (1,041) | $ | 64 | ||||
| Total revenues | $ | 10,771 | $ | 13,604 | $ | 12,814 | ||||
| Net income (loss) margin | 1.4 | % | (21.3) | % | (2.2) | % | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 3.1 | % | (7.7) | % | 0.5 | % | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 1,724 | $ | 1,246 | $ | 1,929 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 169 | 114 | 24 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | — | 16 | — | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (21) | (7) | — | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | — | 7 | — | |||||||
| Gross profit, non-GAAP | $ | 1,872 | $ | 1,376 | $ | 1,953 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 312,847 | 412,296 | 425,237 | |||||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit | $ | 5,511 | $ | 3,022 | $ | 4,537 | ||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 5,984 | $ | 3,337 | $ | 4,593 | ||||
| SG&A | $ | 1,796 | $ | 2,736 | $ | 2,033 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A | 183 | 200 | 105 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A | 73 | 69 | 39 | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | 7 | 50 | — | |||||||
| SG&A, non-GAAP | $ | 1,533 | $ | 2,417 | $ | 1,889 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 312,847 | 412,296 | 425,237 | |||||||
| Total SG&A per retail unit | $ | 5,741 | $ | 6,636 | $ | 4,781 | ||||
| Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 4,900 | $ | 5,862 | $ | 4,442 |
(1) For the year ended December 31, 2022, includes $28 million of lease termination fees, net of amounts written off for the corresponding operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities which were terminated, $26 million of expenses associated with the workforce reductions, of which $7 million was recorded to cost of sales, and $3 million of other restructuring-related costs.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
We generate cash from the sale of retail vehicles, the sale of wholesale vehicles, proceeds from the sale of finance receivables originated in connection with the sale of retail vehicles, and sales of ancillary products such as VSCs and GAP waiver coverage. We generate additional cash flows through our financing activities including our short-term revolving inventory and finance receivable facilities and real estate and equipment financing, the issuance of long-term notes, and new issuances of equity. Historically, cash generated from financing activities has funded growth and expansion into new markets and strategic initiatives and we expect this to continue in the future.
In response to the macroeconomic environment in 2022 and 2023, we increased focus on driving profitability through initiatives to better conform our expense structure to unit volume levels. We expect our primary sources of cash to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities for at least the next 12 months.
Our ability to service our debt and fund working capital, capital expenditures, and business development efforts in the long-term will depend on our ability to generate cash from operating and financing activities, which is subject to our future operating performance, as well as to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which may be beyond our control. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our ability to refinance indebtedness, our ability to obtain supplemental liquidity through additional debt, equity, including the issuance of equity pursuant to the ATM Program discussed below, strategic relationships or other arrangements on terms available or acceptable to us, our rate of revenue growth, our construction of IRCs and vending machines, the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and software development efforts, our advertising spend, and increased population coverage. If we need to obtain supplemental liquidity, there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us in the future.
On July 19, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement (the "Distribution Agreement"), pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell from time to time up to the greater of (i) shares of Class A common stock representing an aggregate offering price of $1.0 billion, or (ii) an aggregate number of 35 million shares of Class A common stock pursuant to one or more "at-the-market offerings," as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "ATM Program"). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, we issued 7.2 million shares of Class A common stock at a weighted-average issuance price per share of $46.94, for gross proceeds of $336 million, which we are using for general corporate purposes. However, there can be no assurance that we will sell further shares of Class A common stock through the ATM Program, or otherwise.
In addition, on August 18, 2023, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with the Garcia Parties pursuant to which we issued 3.4 million Class A LLC Units in Carvana Group (the "Class A Units"), together with 2.7 million shares of Class B common stock, at a price equivalent to $46.31 per share of Class A common stock of the Company, or $37.048 per Class A Unit on an as-exchanged basis. For further information regarding Class A Units and Class B common stock, please see Note 11 — Stockholders' Equity (Deficit).
On September 1, 2023, we completed offers whereby we exchanged validly tendered senior unsecured notes (collectively the "Senior Unsecured Notes") for newly issued Senior Secured Notes (the "Exchange Offers"). Concurrently with the Exchange Offers, we also completed a cash tender offer to purchase any and all outstanding 5.625% senior unsecured notes due 2025 (the "2025 Senior Unsecured Notes") for cash at a purchase price of 85.0% of the aggregate principal amount thereof (the "Cash Tender Offer" and together with the Exchange Offers, the "Offers"). Upon consummation of the Offers, we successfully exchanged Senior Unsecured Notes with an aggregate outstanding principal balance of $5.5 billion for $4.2 billion in aggregate principal balance of newly issued Senior Secured Notes, paid $341 million in cash for validly tendered 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes, and paid $146 million in cash related to accrued and unpaid interest for validly tendered Senior Unsecured Notes.
Finally, subject to the restrictions in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes, we or our affiliates may, at any time, and from time to time, repurchase portions of our Class A common stock, our Senior Unsecured Notes, our Senior Secured Notes, or any other securities we may issue, from time to time, in open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, in exchange for property or other securities or otherwise. Any repurchase decisions will be made after consideration of market conditions and liquidity needs and will be upon such terms and at such prices as we determine appropriate. However, there is no guarantee that a repurchase will take place.
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Liquidity Resources
We had the following committed liquidity resources as well as pledging and other basket capacity available as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 530 | $ | 434 | ||
| Availability under short-term revolving facilities (1) | 1,006 | 1,314 | ||||
| Committed liquidity resources available | $ | 1,536 | $ | 1,748 | ||
| Unpledged real estate not included above (2) | — | 1,971 | ||||
| Super senior debt capacity | 1,262 | — | ||||
| Pari passu senior debt capacity | 250 | — | ||||
| Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations | 80 | 69 | ||||
| Total liquidity resources | $ | 3,128 | $ | 3,788 |
(1) Based on pledging all eligible vehicles and finance receivables under the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivables Facilities, excluding the impact to restricted cash requirements.
(2) Total unpledged gross real estate assets minus committed sale leasebacks. Includes $1.1 billion of ADESA unpledged real estate assets as of December 31, 2022.
Our total liquidity resources are composed of cash and cash equivalents, availability under existing credit facilities, and additional unpledged assets, including real estate and securities, on our balance sheet that can be financed using traditional asset-based financing sources, and additional capacity under the indentures governing our Senior Secured Notes, which allow us to incur additional debt that can be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes.
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash deposits and highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as money market funds.
Availability under short-term revolving facilities is the available amount we can borrow under our existing vehicle inventory floor plan and finance receivable facilities based on the pledgeable value of vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date. Availability under short-term revolving facilities is distinct from the total commitment amount of these facilities because it represents the currently borrowable amount, rather than committed future amounts that could be borrowed to finance future additional assets. Effective November 1, 2023, we amended our vehicle inventory Floor Plan Facility to resize the line of credit to $1.5 billion through April 30, 2025.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the short-term revolving facilities had a total commitment of $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion, an outstanding balance of $668 million and $1.5 billion, and unused capacity of $3.5 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively.
As of December 31, 2022, unpledged real estate assets include real estate acquired as part of the ADESA Acquisition, and IRC, vending machine, and hub real estate assets that had not been sold and were not pledged on the period end date. Since our first sale-leaseback transaction in 2017, we have historically had flexible access to real estate financing and may continue to use various forms of real estate financing in the future, subject to the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes. As of December 31, 2023, substantially all real estate was pledged as security for the Senior Secured Notes.
Super senior debt capacity and pari passu senior debt capacity represents basket capacity to incur additional debt that could be senior or pari passu in lien priority as to the collateral securing the obligations under the Senior Secured Notes, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the indentures governing the Senior Secured Notes. The availability of such additional sources depends on many factors and there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be available to us in the future.
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Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations includes retained beneficial interests in securitizations that have not been previously pledged or sold. We historically have financed the majority of our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and expect to continue to do so in the future.
Additionally, in January 2024, we amended our Master Purchase and Sale Agreement to, among other things, reestablish the commitment by the purchaser to purchase up to $4.0 billion of principal balances of finance receivables between January 11, 2024 and January 10, 2025.
To optimize our cost of capital, in any given period we may choose not to maximize borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities, maximize revolving commitment size, or immediately sale-leaseback real estate; and we may also choose to retain beneficial interests in securitizations for varying amounts of time. This has the benefit of reducing interest expense and debt issuance costs and providing flexibility to minimize financing costs over time.
We consider our total liquidity resources as an input into our planning. In general, changes in total liquidity resources fall into two broad categories: changes due to current business operations and changes due to investments in automotive retail assets.
Changes in liquidity due to current business operations include Adjusted EBITDA, non-real estate capital expenditures, including technology, furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and changes in traditional working capital, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.
In the ordinary course of business, we sponsor and engage in securitization transactions to sell our finance receivables to a diverse pool of investors. These securitizations involve unconsolidated variable interest entities in which we retain at least 5% of the credit risk of the underlying finance receivable by holding at least 5% of the notes and certificates issued by these entities. We are exposed to market risk in the securitization market. See Note 9 — Securitizations and Variable Interest Entities of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our transactions with unconsolidated variable interest entities.
In addition, we also invest in and generate several types of assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and real estate. To maximize capital efficiency, we generally seek to finance these assets with matched sources of asset-based financing, including short-term revolving facilities for vehicle inventory and finance receivables, beneficial interests financing for retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and sale-leaseback or other real estate financing for IRCs and vending machines. We have historically used these sources of financing to finance our investment in these assets and expect to continue to do so in the future.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our outstanding principal amount of indebtedness, including finance leases, was $6.3 billion and $8.4 billion, respectively, summarized in the table below. See Note 10 — Debt Instruments and Note 16 — Leases of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our debt and finance leases.
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| December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| (in millions) | |||||
| Asset-Based Financing: | |||||
| Inventory | $ | 113 | $ | 569 | |
| Finance receivables and beneficial interests | 848 | 1,233 | |||
| Transportation fleet (1) | 267 | 375 | |||
| Real estate (2) | 485 | 489 | |||
| Total asset-based financing | 1,713 | 2,666 | |||
| Senior Secured Notes | 4,378 | — | |||
| Senior Unsecured Notes | 205 | 5,725 | |||
| Total debt | 6,296 | 8,391 | |||
| Less: unamortized debt issuance costs (3) | (60) | (82) | |||
| Plus: unamortized premium (4) | 37 | — | |||
| Total debt, net | $ | 6,273 | $ | 8,309 |
(1) Amount includes notes payable and finance leases.
(2) Amount includes real estate financing and notes payable.
(3) The unamortized debt issuance costs related to long-term debt are presented as a reduction of the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving debt agreements are presented within other assets on our consolidated balance sheets and not included here.
(4) The unamortized premium relates to a portion of the Offers (as defined in Note 10 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K) which was accounted for as a debt modification.
Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 803 | $ | (1,324) | ||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 31 | (2,583) | ||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (868) | 3,899 | ||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (34) | (8) | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 628 | 636 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 594 | $ | 628 |
Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows result from the sales of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and ancillary products. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are purchases of inventory, personnel-related expenses, and cash used to acquire customers. Cash provided by and used in operating activities was $0.8 billion and $1.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, an increase in cash provided by operating activities of $2.1 billion, primarily due to decreased net finance receivables held for sale and vehicle inventory acquisitions, along with decreased selling, general and administrative expenses and reconditioning costs due to our profitability initiatives.
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Investing Activities
Our primary use of cash for investing activities is purchases of property and equipment to expand our operations. Cash provided by and used in investing activities was $31 million and $2.6 billion during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, a decrease in cash used in investing activities of $2.6 billion, primarily driven by the $2.2 billion used for the ADESA Acquisition in May 2022 and decreased purchases of property and equipment in the year ended December 31, 2023 as part of our effort to reduce our capital expenditures.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to our short and long-term debt activity, including paying down our short-term revolving facilities. Cash used in and provided by financing activities was $0.9 billion and $3.9 billion during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, a decrease in cash provided by financing activities of $4.8 billion. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we launched an ATM Program and sold Class A common stock for net proceeds of $327 million, entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with the Garcia Parties and sold Class A LLC Units together with Class B common stock for proceeds of $126 million, and completed the Offers whereby we paid $341 million in cash for validly tendered 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes and $48 million in related debt issuance costs. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we completed an equity offering for net proceeds of $1.2 billion and a notes offering of $3.275 billion as part of our financing for the ADESA Acquisition. The remaining change primarily relates to decreased net proceeds from short-term revolving facilities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We are party to contractual obligations involving commitments to third parties for which we believe we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and meet our obligations as they come due. These contractual obligations impact our liquidity and future capital requirements and primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, leases, short-term revolving facilities, financing of beneficial interests in securitizations, and other purchase obligations and commitments. See Note 8 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, Note 10 — Debt Instruments, Note 16 — Leases, and Note 17 — Commitments and Contingencies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information related to these contractual obligations and commitments.
Fair Value Measurements
We report money market securities, certain receivables, warrants to acquire Root's Class A common stock and beneficial interests in securitizations at fair value. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statement and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have a material impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the recognition of income and expenses. The estimates and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The significant accounting estimates which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results are described below. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more detailed information regarding our critical accounting policies.
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Revenue Recognition
We sell retail vehicles directly to our customers through our website. We recognize revenue upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by a customer at the agreed upon purchase price stated in the contract, including any delivery charges, less an estimate for returns. Our return policy allows customers to initiate a return during the first seven days after delivery. Estimates for returns are based on an analysis of historical experience, trends and sales data. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Customers purchasing retail vehicles from us may enter into contracts for VSCs and, if they finance with us, GAP waiver coverage. The prices of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage are set forth in each contract. We sell and receive a commission on VSCs under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we sell VSCs that DriveTime administers and is the obligor. We receive a commission on GAP waiver coverage contracts where the administrator of the contract is obligated to reimburse the holder of the underlying finance receivable for a balance that is in excess of the value of the financed vehicle in the event of a total loss. We recognize commission revenue at the time of sale, net of a reserve for estimated contract cancellations. Our risk related to contract cancellations is limited to the commissions that we receive. Cancellations fluctuate depending on the customer-financing default or prepayment rates, and shifts in customer behavior, including those related to changes in the coverage or term of the product. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our contract cancellation reserves. The reserve for cancellations of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage is estimated based upon historical experience and recent trends and is reflected as a reduction of other sales and revenues. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Under the master dealer agreement with DriveTime, we are also contractually entitled to receive profit-sharing revenues based on the performance of the VSCs once a required claims period has passed. This is a form of variable consideration we recognize as revenue to the extent that it is probable that it will not result in a significant revenue reversal. We apply the expected value method, utilizing expected VSC performance based on historical claims and cancellation data from our customers, as well as other qualitative assumptions to estimate the amount we expect to receive. We reassess the estimate each reporting period with any changes reflected as an adjustment to other sales and revenues in the period identified. Profit-sharing payments will begin when the underlying VSCs reach a specified level of claims history.
Finance Receivables
Finance receivables include installment contracts we originate to facilitate vehicle sales. We classify these receivables as held for sale, as we do not intend to hold the finance receivables we originate to maturity. We typically sell the finance receivables we originate. We record a valuation allowance to report finance receivables at the lower of unpaid principal balance or fair value. To determine the fair value of finance receivables we utilize industry-standard modeling, such as discounted cash flow analysis, factoring in our historical experience, the credit quality of the underlying receivables, loss trends and recovery rates, as well as the overall economic environment. For purposes of determining the valuation allowance, finance receivables are evaluated collectively to determine the allowance as they represent a large group of smaller-balance homogeneous loans. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our valuation allowance. Principal balances of finance receivables are charged-off when we are unable to sell the finance receivable and the related vehicle has been repossessed and liquidated or the receivable has otherwise been deemed uncollectible. The estimates and trends used have historically been effective in our determination of our valuation allowance.
Beneficial Interests in Securitizations
The Company's beneficial interests in securitizations include rated notes and certificates and other assets, all of which are classified as Level 3 due to the lack of observable market data. The Company determines the fair value of its rated notes based on non-binding broker quotes. The non-binding broker quotes are based on models that consider the prevailing interest rates, recent market transactions, and current business conditions. The Company determines the fair value of its certificates and other assets using a combination of non-binding market quotes and internally developed discounted cash flow models. The discounted cash flow models use discount rates based on prevailing interest rates and the characteristics of the specific
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instruments. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the discount rates.
Significant increases or decreases in the inputs to the models could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The Company elected the fair value option on its beneficial interests in securitizations, which allows it to recognize changes in the fair value of these assets in the period the fair value changes resulting in a gain or loss in that period.
Valuation of Inventory
Vehicle inventory consists of used vehicles, primarily acquired directly from customers and at auction. Direct and indirect vehicle reconditioning costs including parts and labor, inbound transportation costs and other incremental costs are capitalized as a component of inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Vehicle inventory cost is determined by specific identification. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price less costs to complete, dispose and transport the vehicles. Selling prices are derived from historical data and trends, such as sales price and inventory turn times of similar vehicles, as well as independent market resources. Each reporting period we recognize any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value through cost of sales. To the extent that there are significant changes to estimated vehicle selling prices or decreases in demand for used vehicles, there could be significant adjustments to reflect our inventory at net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes pursuant to the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities related to the expected future tax consequences arising from temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Any effects of changes in income tax rates or laws are included in income tax expense in the period of enactment. We reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the evidence available, it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. In making the assessment under the more likely than not standard, appropriate consideration must be given to all positive and negative evidence related to the realization of the deferred tax assets. The assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry forward periods by jurisdiction, our experience with loss carryforwards not expiring unutilized, and all tax-planning alternatives that may be available. A valuation allowance is recognized if under applicable accounting standards we determine it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets would not be realized.
Business Combination Purchase Price Allocation
The purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition, with the excess purchase price being recorded as goodwill. The allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired is specifically complex because of the significant estimates and assumptions involved in determining their fair values. Due to this higher degree of complexity, we obtained the assistance of outside valuation experts in the allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. While outside valuation experts were used, management has the ultimate responsibility for the valuation methods, models and inputs used and the resulting purchase price allocation. Critical estimates used in valuing tangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, the similarity of the acquired real property to market comparable transactions, costs of similar personal property in new condition, and economic obsolescence rates. Critical estimates used in valuing identifiable intangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, revenues and attrition rate.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001690820-23-000052.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Part I, including matters set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Except when stated otherwise, we present the discussion in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on a consolidated basis.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Each element of our business, from inventory procurement to fulfillment and overall ease of the online transaction, has been built for this singular purpose.
See Part I, Item 1 - "Business" for a detailed description and discussion of the Company's business.
Refer to "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022 for discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Retail Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have historically experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. Due to macroeconomic impacts, including rising used car prices and interest rates, during the year ended December 31, 2022, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers decreased by 3.0% to 412,296, compared to 425,237 in the year ended December 31, 2021.
We view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important measure of our growth, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to efficiently increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of automotive finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, the sale of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
•Retail units sold are an important driver of the average number of days between when we acquire the vehicle and when we sell it. Reducing average days to sale impacts gross profit on our vehicles because used vehicles depreciate over time.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
In the long-term, we plan to invest in technology and infrastructure to support growth in retail units sold. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as continued investment in product development and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
Markets and Population Coverage
Our historical growth in retail units sold has been driven by increased penetration in our existing markets and expansion into new markets. We define a market as a metropolitan area in which we have commenced local advertising and generally offer home delivery to customers with a Carvana employee in a branded delivery truck. We define our population coverage as the percentage of U.S. population that lives within those markets. Opening a new market involves hiring a team of customer
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advocates, connecting the market to our existing logistics network and initiating local advertising. As a market scales, we may elect to build a vending machine in the market to further increase customer awareness and enhance our fulfillment operations.
Our expansion model has historically enabled us to increase our number of markets, resulting in servicing more of the U.S. population, in each of the past ten years. Our market openings increased the total percentage of the U.S. population served to 81.1% in 316 markets as of December 31, 2022 from 81.0% in 311 markets as of December 31, 2021. Over time, we have continually improved our market expansion playbook, which we believe provides us with the capability to efficiently execute our long-term growth plan. We continually evaluate consumer demand and our operational capacity and necessary efficiencies to determine our market opening and vending machine launch strategy.
When we open a market, we commence advertising using a blend of brand and direct advertising channels. Our advertising spend in each market is approximately proportionate to each market’s population, subject to adjustments based on specific characteristics of the market, used vehicle market seasonality, and special events such as vending machine openings. This historically has led to increased market penetration over time following the market opening. We also advertise on national television to increase brand awareness.
Revenue and Gross Profit
We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, sales through our wholesale marketplace, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, and sales of ancillary products such as VSCs and GAP waiver coverage.
Our largest source of revenue, retail vehicle sales, totaled $10.3 billion and $9.9 billion during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We generally expect retail vehicle sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. We generate gross profit on retail vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale.
Wholesale sales and revenues includes sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory. Subsequent to our acquisition of the U.S. physical auction business of ADESA from KAR on May 9, 2022, we also include revenue earned for the sale of wholesale marketplace units by non-Carvana sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related service revenues, in wholesale sales and revenues. Wholesale sales and revenues totaled $2.6 billion and $1.9 billion during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We generally expect wholesale sales to trend proportionately with retail units sold through trade-ins and from customers who wish to sell us a car independent of a retail sale. We generate gross profit on wholesale vehicle sales from the difference between the wholesale selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale. We generate a gross profit on wholesale marketplace units from the difference between the revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units through our wholesale marketplace platform less our cost of sales associated with operating the wholesale marketplace platform.
Other sales and revenues, which primarily includes gains on the sales of automotive finance receivables we originate, sales commissions on ancillary products such as VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and auto insurance, totaled $741 million and $1.0 billion during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We generally expect other sales and revenues to trend proportionately with retail units sold. We also expect other sales and revenues to increase as we improve our ability to monetize loans we originate, including through securitization transactions, and sell and offer attractive financing solutions and ancillary products to our customers, including products customarily sold by automotive retailers or insurance products customarily sold by traditional insurance companies, absent any material changes in macroeconomic conditions. Other sales and revenues are 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue.
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During current macroeconomic uncertainty, our highest priority will continue to be providing exceptional customer experiences while improving efficiency, increasing our brand awareness and utilizing our infrastructure to support efficient growth in retail units sold, to help us move along the path to achieve profitability and positive free cash flow. Secondarily, we plan to pursue several strategies designed to increase our total gross profit per unit. These strategies include the following:
•Increase the purchase of vehicles from customers. Over time, we plan to grow the number of vehicles that we purchase from our customers either as trade-ins or independent of a retail sale. This will provide additional vehicles for our retail business, which on average are more profitable compared to the same vehicle acquired at auction, and expand our inventory selection. In addition, this in turn will grow our wholesale business.
•Reduce average days to sale. Our goal is generally to increase our sales at a faster rate than we increase our inventory size, which we believe would decrease average days to sale due to a relative increase in demand versus supply. Reductions in average days to sale lead to fewer vehicle price reductions, and therefore higher average selling prices, all other factors being equal. Higher average selling prices in turn lead to higher gross profit per unit sold, all other factors being equal.
•Leverage existing inspection and reconditioning infrastructure. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity at our existing IRCs, which collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition approximately 1.1 million vehicles per year at full utilization. We also intend to use existing capacity in the facilities acquired in the ADESA Acquisition.
•Increase utilization of our logistics network. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize our in-house logistics network to transport cars to our IRCs or other sites after acquisition from customers or wholesale auctions.
•Increase conversion on existing products. We plan to continue to improve our website to highlight the benefits of our complementary product offerings, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and trade-ins.
•Add new products and services. We plan to utilize our online sales platform to offer additional complementary products and services to our customers.
•Increase monetization of our finance receivables. We plan to continue selling finance receivables in securitization transactions and otherwise expand our base of financial partners who purchase the finance receivables originated on our platform to reduce our effective cost of funds.
•Optimize purchasing and pricing. We are constantly improving the ways in which we predict customer demand, value vehicles sight unseen and optimize what we pay to acquire those vehicles. We also regularly test different pricing of our products, including vehicle sticker prices, trade-in and independent vehicle offers, and ancillary product prices, and we believe we can improve by further optimizing prices over time.
Seasonality
Retail and wholesale used vehicle sales generally exhibit seasonality with sales peaking late in the first calendar quarter and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. Due to our historical rapid growth, our overall sales patterns in the past have not always reflected the general seasonality of the used vehicle industry. However, as our business and markets have and continue to mature, our results have become more reflective of typical market seasonality. Used vehicle prices also exhibit seasonality, with used vehicles depreciating at a faster rate in the last two quarters of each year and a slower rate in the first two quarters of each year, all other factors being equal. We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, including as a result of macroeconomic conditions, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
Investment in Growth
We have historically aggressively invested in the growth of our business. Due to the current macroeconomic environment, we are focused on driving profitability through operating efficiency and reducing expenses. While we intend to become increasingly efficient over time, we also anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the long term as we
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continue to expand our logistics network, increase our advertising spending, and serve more of the U.S. population. There is no guarantee that we will be able to realize the desired return on our investments.
Relationship with Related Parties
For discussion about our relationships with related parties, refer to Note 7 — Related Party Transactions of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Proxy Statement for our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our progress and make strategic decisions. Our key operating metrics reflect the key drivers of our growth, including increasing brand awareness, enhancing the selection of vehicles we make available to our customers, and serving more of the U.S. population. Our key operating metrics also demonstrate our ability to translate these drivers into retail sales and to monetize these retail sales through a variety of product offerings.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| Retail units sold | 412,296 | 425,237 | ||||
| Average monthly unique visitors (in thousands) | 21,763 | 17,854 | ||||
| Total website units | 63,992 | 71,062 | ||||
| Total gross profit per unit | $ | 3,022 | $ | 4,537 | ||
| Total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP | $ | 3,337 | $ | 4,593 |
Retail Units Sold
We define retail units sold as the number of vehicles sold to customers in a given period, net of returns under our seven-day return policy. We view retail units sold as a key measure of our growth for several reasons. First, retail units sold is the primary driver of our revenues and, indirectly, gross profit, since retail unit sales enable multiple complementary revenue streams, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, other ancillary products, and trade-ins. Second, growth in retail units sold increases the base of available customers for referrals and repeat sales. Third, growth in retail units sold is an indicator of our ability to successfully scale our logistics, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
Average Monthly Unique Visitors
We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website within a calendar month, based on data provided by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the strength of our brand, the effectiveness of our advertising and merchandising campaigns, and consumer awareness of our brand.
Total Website Units
We define total website units as the number of vehicles listed on our website on the last day of a given reporting period, including vehicles available for sale, vehicles currently engaged in a purchase or reserved by a customer, and vehicles that can be reserved that generally have not yet completed the inspection and reconditioning process. We view total website units as a key measure of our growth. Growth in total website units increases the selection of vehicles available to our consumers, which we believe will allow us to increase the number of vehicles we sell over time. Moreover, growth in total website units indicates our ability to scale our vehicle purchasing, inspection and reconditioning operations. As part of our inventory strategy, over time we may choose not to expand total website units while continuing to grow sales, thereby improving other key operating metrics of the business.
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Total Gross Profit per Unit
We define total gross profit per unit as the aggregate gross profit in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period including gross profit generated from the sale of retail vehicles, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, commissions on sales of VSCs, GAP waiver coverage and other ancillary products, and gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles. We operate an integrated business with the objective of increasing the number of retail units sold and total gross profit per unit. Gross profits generated from the sale of retail and wholesale units are interrelated. For example, our nationwide reconditioning and inspection centers are designed to produce vehicles for both retail and wholesale sales, our vehicle storage locations have shared parking for both retail and wholesale vehicles, and our integrated multi-vehicle logistics and last mile delivery network is operated in service of both retail and wholesale sales. Such interrelationships require us to share finite operational capacity and optimize joint decisions between retail and wholesale sales, in order to position us to achieve our objective of increasing total gross profit per unit. As a result, the inclusion of gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles in total gross profit per unit reflects our integrated business model and the interrelationship between wholesale and retail vehicle sales. We define total gross profit per unit, non-GAAP as the aggregate gross profit, non-GAAP in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period. Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as gross profit plus depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in cost of sales, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to our Root warrants. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information, including the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures. We believe the total gross profit per unit metrics provide investors with the greatest opportunity to view our performance through the same lens that our management does, and therefore assists investors to best evaluate our business and measure our progress.
Population Coverage
We previously reported population coverage as a key operating metric. As a result of our growth in recent years, we now cover in excess of 80% of the U.S. population, and as a result, population coverage is no longer considered a key operating metric. We define our population coverage as the percentage of U.S. population that lives within one of our markets. We define a market as a metropolitan area in which we have commenced local advertising and generally offer home delivery to customers with a Carvana employee in a branded delivery truck. We define population coverage as the metropolitan statistical area population in the markets we sever at the end of the period divided by the total population in the U.S., based on 2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Number of IRCs
We previously reported our number of IRCs as a key operating metric. With the ADESA Acquisition, we have added an additional 56 auction locations and are performing reconditioning work at several of these locations as of December 31, 2022, in addition to the 17 historical Carvana-specific locations. Given the expanded reconditioning capacity associated with the ADESA Acquisition, we no longer consider the number of IRCs a key operating metric.
Components of Results of Operations
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales represent the aggregate sales of used vehicles to customers through our website. Revenue from retail vehicles sales is recognized upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by the customer, and is reported net of a reserve for expected returns. Factors affecting retail vehicle sales revenue include the number of retail units sold and the average selling price of these vehicles. Changes in retail units sold are a much larger driver of changes in revenue than are changes in average selling price.
The number of retail vehicles we sell depends on the volume of traffic to our website, our population coverage, our inventory selection, the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts, the quality of our customer's purchase experience, our volume of referrals and repeat customers, the competitiveness of our pricing, competition from other used car dealerships and general economic conditions. On a quarterly basis, the number of retail vehicles we sell is also affected by seasonality, with demand for retail vehicles generally reaching a seasonal high point late in the first quarter of each year, commensurate with the timing of tax refunds, and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of retail vehicle sales generally expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. However, in 2022, heightened inflation and rising interest rates have resulted in lower demand for used vehicles.
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Our retail average selling price depends on the mix of vehicles we acquire, retail prices in our markets, our pricing strategy, and our average days to sale. We may choose to shift our inventory mix to higher or lower cost vehicles, or to raise or lower our prices relative to market to take advantage of supply or demand imbalances, which could temporarily lead to average selling prices increasing or decreasing. We also generally expect lower average days to sale to be associated with higher retail average selling prices due to decreased vehicle depreciation prior to sale, all other factors being equal.
Wholesale Sales and Revenues
Wholesale sales and revenues includes the aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles we acquire and sell to wholesalers, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace revenues. The vehicles we sell to wholesalers are primarily acquired from customers who sell a vehicle to us without purchasing a retail vehicle and from our customers who trade-in their existing vehicles when making a purchase from us. Factors affecting wholesale sales and revenues include the number of wholesale units sold and the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles. The average selling price of our wholesale units is primarily driven by the mix of vehicles we sell to wholesalers, as well as general supply and demand conditions in the applicable wholesale vehicle market. Wholesale sales and revenues includes aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to DriveTime through competitive online auctions that are managed by an unrelated third party and through the Company's wholesale marketplace platform. Wholesale marketplace revenues include revenue earned from the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including auction fees and related services revenue.
Other Sales and Revenues
We generate other sales and revenues primarily through the sales of loans we originate and sell in securitization transactions or to financing partners, reported net of a reserve for expected repurchases, commissions we receive on VSCs, sales of GAP waiver coverage, and commissions and warrants we receive on sales of auto insurance. In 2016, we entered into a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we receive a commission for selling VSCs that DriveTime administers. The commission revenue we recognize on VSCs depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of VSCs on these sales, commission rates we receive, VSC early cancellation frequency and product features. The GAP waiver coverage revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the number of customers that choose to finance their purchases with us, the frequency of GAP waiver coverage early cancellation, and the conversion rate of GAP waiver coverage on those sales.
In September 2022, we partnered with Root to offer an integrated auto insurance solution, through which customers may conveniently access auto insurance directly from the Carvana e-commerce platform. We receive commissions and Warrants to purchase shares of Root's Class A common stock based on the Root insurance policies sold through the Integrated Platform. The commission revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of auto policies on those sales, commission rates we receive, and forecasted attrition. The revenue we recognize from warrants as non-cash consideration depends on the probability of achieving certain auto policy sales thresholds within a specific timeline as well as our performance under the agreement.
We generally seek to sell the loans we originate to securitization trusts we sponsor and establish or to financing partners. The securitization trusts issue asset-backed securities, some of which are collateralized by the finance receivables that we sell to the securitization trusts. We also sell the loans we originate under committed forward-flow arrangements, including a master purchase and sale agreement, and through fixed pool loan sales, with financing partners who generally acquire them at premium prices without recourse to us for their post-sale performance. Factors affecting revenue from these sales include the number of loans we originate, the average principal balance of the loans, the credit quality of the portfolio, and the price at which we are able to sell them in securitization transactions or to financing partners.
The number of loans we originate is driven by the number of retail vehicles sold and the percentage of our sales for which we provide financing, which is influenced by the financing terms we offer our customers relative to alternatives available to the customer. The average principal balance is driven primarily by the mix of vehicles we sell, since higher average selling prices typically mean higher average balances. The price at which we sell the loan is driven by the terms of our securitization transactions and forward-flow arrangement, applicable interest rates, and whether or not the loan includes GAP waiver coverage.
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Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the cost to acquire, recondition, and transport vehicles associated with preparing them for resale, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Vehicle acquisition costs are driven by the mix of vehicles we acquire, the source of those vehicles, and supply-and-demand dynamics in the vehicle market. Reconditioning costs consist of direct costs, including parts, labor, and third-party repair expenses directly attributable to specific vehicles, as well as indirect costs, such as IRC overhead. Transportation costs consist of costs incurred to transport the vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC or other site. Cost of sales also includes any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Wholesale marketplace cost of sales include costs related to the sale of wholesale marketplace units by third-party sellers through our wholesale marketplace platform, including labor, rent, depreciation and amortization.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our costs of sales associated with vehicles that we list and sell on our website. Retail vehicle gross profit per unit is our aggregate retail vehicle gross profit in any measurement period divided by the number of retail units sold in that period.
Wholesale Gross Profit
Wholesale gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our cost of sales associated with vehicles we sell to wholesalers, and beginning in 2022, wholesale marketplace revenues less wholesale marketplace cost of sales. Factors affecting wholesale gross profit include the number of wholesale units sold, the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, the average acquisition price associated with these vehicles, and the number of wholesale marketplace units sold.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in revenues from these products and the associated drivers.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses include expenses associated with advertising and providing customer service to customers, operating our vending machines, hubs, physical auctions, operating our logistics and fulfillment network and other corporate overhead expenses, including expenses associated with information technology, product development, engineering, legal, accounting, finance, and business development. SG&A expenses exclude the costs of inspecting and reconditioning vehicles and transporting vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC, which are included in cost of sales, and payroll costs for our employees related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Goodwill Impairment
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $847 million. Refer to Note 5 — Goodwill and Intangible Assets of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for additional information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense includes interest incurred on our Senior Notes, our Floor Plan Facilities, and our Finance Receivable Facilities (each as defined in Note 10 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), as well as our notes payable, finance leases, and long-term debt, which are used to fund general working capital, our inventory, our transportation fleet, and certain of our property and equipment. Interest expense excludes the interest incurred during various construction projects to build,
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upgrade, or remodel certain facilities, which is capitalized to property and equipment and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Other Expense (Income)
Other expense (income), net includes changes in fair value on our beneficial interests in securitizations, purchase price adjustment receivables, and fair value adjustments related to our Warrants to acquire Root's Class A common stock as discussed in Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, along with other general expenses such as gains or losses from disposals of long-lived assets.
Income Tax Provision
Income taxes are recognized based upon our anticipated underlying annual blended federal and state income tax rates adjusted, as necessary, for any discrete tax matters occurring during the period. As the sole managing member of Carvana Group, LLC (“Carvana Group”), Carvana Co. consolidates the financial results of Carvana Group. Carvana Group is treated as a partnership and therefore not subject to U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Carvana Group is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including Carvana Co., based on its economic interest held in Carvana Group. Carvana Co. is taxed as a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Carvana Group, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by Carvana Co. During each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated income tax expense of $1 million.
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Results of Operations
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | ||||||||||
| Net sales and operating revenues: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle sales, net | $ | 10,254 | $ | 9,851 | 4.1 | % | ||||
| Wholesale sales and revenues (1) | 2,609 | 1,920 | 35.9 | % | ||||||
| Other sales and revenues (2) | 741 | 1,043 | (29.0) | % | ||||||
| Total net sales and operating revenues | $ | 13,604 | $ | 12,814 | 6.2 | % | ||||
| Gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit (3) | $ | 371 | $ | 697 | (46.8) | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit (1) | 134 | 189 | (29.1) | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit (2) | 741 | 1,043 | (29.0) | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 1,246 | $ | 1,929 | (35.4) | % | ||||
| Unit sales information: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 412,296 | 425,237 | (3.0) | % | ||||||
| Wholesale vehicle unit sales | 193,260 | 170,056 | 13.6 | % | ||||||
| Per unit selling prices: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicles | $ | 24,870 | $ | 23,167 | 7.4 | % | ||||
| Wholesale vehicles (4) | $ | 10,965 | $ | 11,287 | (2.9) | % | ||||
| Per retail unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Retail vehicle gross profit (5) | $ | 900 | $ | 1,638 | (45.1) | % | ||||
| Wholesale gross profit | 325 | 446 | (27.1) | % | ||||||
| Other gross profit | 1,797 | 2,453 | (26.7) | % | ||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 3,022 | $ | 4,537 | (33.4) | % | ||||
| Per wholesale unit gross profit: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit (6) | $ | 580 | $ | 1,116 | (48.0) | % | ||||
| Wholesale marketplace: | ||||||||||
| Wholesale marketplace units sold | 485,333 | — | NM | |||||||
| Wholesale marketplace revenues | $ | 490 | $ | — | NM | |||||
| Wholesale marketplace gross profit (7) | $ | 22 | $ | — | NM |
(1) Includes $32 and $54, respectively, of wholesale sales and revenues from related parties.
(2) Includes $176 and $208, respectively, of other sales and revenues from related parties.
(3) Includes $16 and $0, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to the CEO Milestone Gift.
(4) Excludes wholesale marketplace revenues and wholesale marketplace units sold.
(5) Includes $39 and $0, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to the CEO Milestone Gift.
(6) Excludes wholesale marketplace gross profit and wholesale marketplace units sold.
(7) Includes $62 and $0, respectively, of depreciation and amortization expense.
NM = Not Meaningful
Retail Vehicle Sales
Retail vehicle sales increased by $403 million to $10.3 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $9.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the average selling price of our retail units sold to $24,870 in the year ended December 31, 2022 from $23,167 in the prior year, due primarily to overall appreciation in the used vehicle market compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase was partly offset by a decrease in the number of retail vehicles sold to 412,296 from 425,237 during the years ended December 31,
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2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in retail units sold was driven by various macroeconomic factors including increased interest rates and inflation, leading to decreased vehicle affordability.
Wholesale Vehicle Sales and Revenues
Wholesale vehicle sales increased by $689 million to $2.6 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $1.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by the ADESA Acquisition, resulting in 485,333 wholesale marketplace units sold, for a total of $490 million in wholesale marketplace revenue. Additionally, wholesale units sold increased to 193,260 from 170,056 during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in the average selling price of our wholesale units sold to $10,965 from $11,287 during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase in wholesale units sold was due to acquiring more vehicles from customers, while the lower average selling price was primarily due to depreciation in the used vehicle market compared to the year ended December 31, 2021.
Other Sales and Revenues
Other sales and revenues decreased by $302 million to $741 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $1.0 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease is primarily due to fewer loan sales, a decrease in gain on loan sales driven by rapidly increasing benchmark interest rates, and the impact of the decrease in retail units sold, partially offset by the impact of higher industry-wide vehicle prices on average loan size during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Retail Vehicle Gross Profit
Retail vehicle gross profit decreased by $326 million to $371 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $697 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. This decrease was driven primarily by a decrease in retail vehicle gross profit per unit to $900 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $1,638 for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was further driven by a decrease in retail units sold. The per unit decrease was primarily driven by higher retail vehicle depreciation rates and reconditioning and inbound transport costs, partially offset by a higher ratio of customer-sourced vehicles sold during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Wholesale Vehicle Gross Profit
Wholesale vehicle gross profit decreased by $55 million to $134 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $189 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $580 from $1,116 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, partially offset by an increase in wholesale units sold to 193,260 from 170,056, respectively, as well as $22 million of wholesale marketplace gross profit due to the ADESA Acquisition. The increase in the number of wholesale units sold was primarily due to acquiring more vehicles from customers, while the decrease in gross profit per wholesale unit was driven by depreciation in the used vehicle market.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in other gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in other sales and revenues and the associated drivers.
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Components of SG&A
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits (1) | $ | 917 | $ | 667 | ||
| CEO Milestone Gift (2) | 26 | — | ||||
| Advertising | 490 | 479 | ||||
| Market occupancy (3) | 93 | 70 | ||||
| Logistics (4) | 235 | 148 | ||||
| Other (5) | 975 | 669 | ||||
| Total | $ | 2,736 | $ | 2,033 |
(1) Compensation and benefits includes all payroll and related costs, including benefits, payroll taxes, and equity-based compensation, except those related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales, and those related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
(2) CEO Milestone Gift includes all equity-based compensation and payroll tax costs associated with the Gift, except those Gift costs related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales.
(3) Market occupancy costs includes occupancy costs of our vending machine and hubs. It excludes occupancy costs related to reconditioning vehicles which are included in cost of sales and the portion related to corporate occupancy which are included in other costs.
(4) Logistics includes fuel, maintenance and depreciation related to operating our own transportation fleet, and third-party transportation fees, except the portion related to inbound transportation, which is included in cost of sales.
(5) Other costs include all other selling, general and administrative expenses such as IT expenses, corporate occupancy, professional services and insurance, limited warranty, and title and registration.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $703 million to $2.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $2.0 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021. During the first half of the year ended December 31, 2022, we increased compensation and benefits, advertising, market occupancy, logistics, and other expenses primarily due to building capacity for increases in the number of units sold and in population coverage, in preparation for future growth, and as a result of the ADESA Acquisition. During the second half of the year ended December 31, 2022, we strategically reduced our spending across all areas of SG&A in response to various macroeconomic factors. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred $50 million of lease termination fees, expenses associated with the previously announced workforce reductions, and other restructuring-related costs.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred $26 million of compensation expense related to the CEO Milestone Gift within selling, general and administrative expense, which is presented separately above, compared to none during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Goodwill Impairment
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $847 million. Refer to Note 5 — Goodwill and Intangible Assets of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for additional information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $310 million to $486 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $176 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase is primarily due to increased interest incurred on additional
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senior unsecured notes issued by the Company in March 2021, August 2021, and May 2022, along with increased interest expense incurred on working capital financing since the year ended December 31, 2021, partially due to rising interest rates.
Other Expense (Income), Net
Other expense (income), net increased by $64 million to expense of $70 million compared to expense of $6 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The change is primarily due to fair value adjustments on our warrants to acquire Root's Class A common stock and fair value adjustments on our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and purchase price adjustment receivables.
Income Tax Provision
We recognized an income tax expense of $1 million in each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 from certain subsidiaries.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we also present the following non-GAAP measures: Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP. We historically presented EBITDA and EBITDA margin, however we believe the presentation of the aforementioned non-GAAP measures, in conjunction with U.S. GAAP financial measures, provides investors with increased transparency into financial measures used by our management team, and it also improves investors’ understanding of our underlying operating performance and their ability to analyze our ongoing operating trends. All historic non-GAAP financial measures have been reconciled to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures.
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP
Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net loss, gross profit, or SG&A, as determined by U.S. GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net loss plus income tax expense, interest expense, other (income) expense, net, depreciation and amortization in cost of sales and SG&A, goodwill impairment, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in cost of sales and SG&A, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to our Root warrants. Following the ADESA Acquisition, we are also excluding depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, which was historically only a small component of cost of sales. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross profit, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP gross profit plus depreciation and amortization in cost of sales, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in cost of sales, and restructuring costs, minus revenue related to our Root warrants. Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP is Gross profit, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
SG&A, non-GAAP is defined as GAAP SG&A minus depreciation and amortization in SG&A, share-based compensation including the CEO Milestone Gift in SG&A, and restructuring costs. Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP is SG&A, non-GAAP divided by retail vehicle unit sales.
We use these non-GAAP measures to measure the operating performance of our business as a whole and relative to our total revenues and retail vehicle unit sales. We believe that these metrics are useful measures to us and to our investors because they exclude certain financial, capital structure, and non-cash items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations, in part because they may vary widely across time and within our industry independent of the performance of our core operations. We believe that excluding these items enables us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period and relative to our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin; Gross profit, non-GAAP; Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP; SG&A, non-GAAP; and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP may not be comparable to similarly titled measures provided by other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculations. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, Gross profit, non-GAAP to gross profit, and SG&A,
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non-GAAP to SG&A, which are the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures, and calculations of Adjusted EBITDA margin, Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP, and Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP is as follows:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (2,894) | $ | (287) | $ | (462) | ||||
| Income tax provision | 1 | 1 | — | |||||||
| Interest expense | 486 | 176 | 131 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | 70 | 6 | (1) | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 114 | 24 | 10 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A | 200 | 105 | 74 | |||||||
| Goodwill impairment | 847 | — | — | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 16 | — | 1 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A | 69 | 39 | 25 | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (7) | — | — | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | 57 | — | — | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (1,041) | $ | 64 | $ | (222) | ||||
| Total revenues | $ | 13,604 | $ | 12,814 | $ | 5,587 | ||||
| Net loss margin | (21.3) | % | (2.2) | % | (8.3) | % | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | (7.7) | % | 0.5 | % | (4.0) | % | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 1,246 | $ | 1,929 | $ | 794 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in cost of sales | 114 | 24 | 10 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in cost of sales | 16 | — | 1 | |||||||
| Root warrant revenue | (7) | — | — | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | 7 | — | — | |||||||
| Gross profit, non-GAAP | $ | 1,376 | $ | 1,953 | $ | 805 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 412,296 | 425,237 | 244,111 | |||||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit | $ | 3,022 | $ | 4,537 | $ | 3,253 | ||||
| Total gross profit per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 3,337 | $ | 4,593 | $ | 3,298 | ||||
| SG&A | $ | 2,736 | $ | 2,033 | $ | 1,126 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense in SG&A | 200 | 105 | 74 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense in SG&A | 69 | 39 | 25 | |||||||
| Restructuring (1) | 50 | — | — | |||||||
| SG&A, non-GAAP | $ | 2,417 | $ | 1,889 | $ | 1,027 | ||||
| Retail vehicle unit sales | 412,296 | 425,237 | 244,111 | |||||||
| Total SG&A per retail unit | $ | 6,636 | $ | 4,781 | $ | 4,613 | ||||
| Total SG&A per retail unit, non-GAAP | $ | 5,862 | $ | 4,442 | $ | 4,207 |
(1) For the year ended December 31, 2022, includes $28 million of lease termination fees, net of amounts written off for the corresponding operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities which were terminated, $26 million of expenses
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associated with the previously announced workforce reductions, of which $7 million was recorded to cost of sales, and $3 million of other restructuring-related costs.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
We generate cash from the sale of retail vehicles, the sale of wholesale vehicles, and proceeds from the sale of finance receivables originated in connection with the sale of retail vehicles. We generate additional cash flows through our financing activities including our short-term revolving inventory and finance receivable facilities, real estate and equipment financing, the issuance of long-term notes, and new issuances of equity. Historically, cash generated from financing activities has funded growth and expansion into new markets and strategic initiatives and we expect this to continue in the future. We expect our
primary sources of cash to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments for investing and
financing activities for at least the next 12 months.
Our ability to service our debt and fund working capital, capital expenditures, and business development efforts in the long-term will depend on our ability to generate cash from operating and financing activities, which is subject to our future operating performance, as well as to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which may be beyond our control. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our ability to refinance indebtedness, our ability to obtain supplemental liquidity through debt, equity, strategic relationships or other arrangements on terms available or acceptable to us, our rate of revenue growth, our construction of IRCs and vending machines, the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and software development efforts, and increased population coverage. If we need to obtain supplemental liquidity, there can be no assurance that financing alternatives will be
available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us in the future.
We had the following liquidity resources available as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 434 | $ | 403 | ||
| Availability under short-term revolving facilities (1) | 1,444 | 438 | ||||
| Committed liquidity resources available | $ | 1,878 | $ | 841 | ||
| Unpledged vehicle inventory not included above | — | 665 | ||||
| Unpledged real estate not included above (2) | 1,971 | 677 | ||||
| Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations | 69 | 100 | ||||
| Total liquidity resources | $ | 3,918 | $ | 2,283 |
(1) Based on pledging all eligible vehicles and finance receivables under the available capacity in our floor plan and finance receivable facilities, excluding the impact to restricted cash requirements.
(2) Total unpledged gross real estate assets minus committed sale leasebacks. Includes $1.1 billion of ADESA unpledged real estate assets.
Our total liquidity resources are composed of cash and equivalents, availability under existing credit facilities, and additional unpledged assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, real estate, and securities, on our balance sheet that can be financed using traditional asset-based financing sources.
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash deposits and highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as money market funds.
Availability under short-term revolving facilities is the available amount we can borrow under our existing vehicle inventory floor plan and finance receivable facilities based on the pledgable value of vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date. Availability under short-term revolving facilities is distinct from the total
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commitment amount of these facilities because it represents the currently borrowable amount, rather than committed future amounts that could be borrowed to finance future additional assets.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the short-term revolving facilities had a total commitment of $4.8 billion and $4.3 billion, an outstanding balance of $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion, and unused capacity of $3.2 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.
Unpledged vehicle inventory and finance receivables is the value of vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date beyond that covered by committed financing agreements. Effective September 22, 2022, we amended and restated our vehicle inventory floor plan facility (the "12-Month Floor Plan Facility") to extend the maturity date to September 22, 2023 with a line of credit of $2.2 billion. On September 22, 2022, we also entered into a separate vehicle inventory floor plan facility (the "18-Month Floor Plan Facility", and together with the 12-Month Floor Plan Facility, the "Floor Plan Facilities") with a lender. The line of credit under the 18-Month Floor Plan Facility is $2.0 billion, which becomes available following the maturity and repayment of the 12-Month Floor Plan Facility.
Unpledged real estate assets include real estate acquired as part of the ADESA Acquisition, IRC, vending machine, and hub real estate assets that have not been sold and are not pledged on the period end date. Since our first sale-leaseback transaction in 2017, we have historically had flexible access to real estate financing and expect to continue to use various forms of real estate financing in the future.
Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations includes retained beneficial interests in securitizations that have not been previously pledged or sold. We historically have financed the majority of our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and expect to continue to do so in the future.
To optimize our cost of capital, in any given period we may choose not to maximize borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities, maximize revolving commitment size, or immediately sale-leaseback or pledge real estate and retained beneficial interests in securitizations. This has the benefit of reducing interest expense and debt issuance costs and providing flexibility to minimize financing costs over time.
We consider our total liquidity resources as an input into our planning. In general, changes in total liquidity resources fall into two broad categories: changes due to current business operations and changes due to investments in automotive retail assets.
Changes in liquidity due to current business operations include Adjusted EBITDA, non-real estate capital expenditures, including technology, furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and changes in traditional working capital, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.
In the ordinary course of business, we sponsor and engage in securitization transactions to sell our finance receivables to a diverse pool of investors. These securitizations involve unconsolidated variable interest entities in which we retain at least 5% of the credit risk of the underlying finance receivable by holding at least 5% of the notes and certificates issued by these entities. We are exposed to market risk in the securitization market. See Note 9 — Securitizations and Variable Interest Entities of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our transactions with unconsolidated variable interest entities.
In addition, we also invest in and generate several types of automotive retail assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and real estate. To maximize capital efficiency, we generally seek to finance these assets with matched sources of asset-based financing, including short-term revolving facilities for vehicle inventory and finance receivables, beneficial interests financing for retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and sale-leaseback or other real estate financing for IRCs and vending machines. We have historically used these sources of financing to finance our investment in these assets and expect to continue to do so in the future.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our outstanding principal amount of indebtedness, including finance leases, was $8.4 billion and $5.4 billion, respectively, summarized in the table below. See Note 10 — Debt Instruments and Note 16 — Leases of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our debt and finance leases.
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| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Asset-Based Financing: | ||||||
| Inventory | $ | 569 | $ | 1,877 | ||
| Finance receivables and beneficial interests | 1,233 | 458 | ||||
| Transportation fleet (1) | 375 | 212 | ||||
| Real estate (2) | 489 | 450 | ||||
| Total asset-based financing | 2,666 | 2,997 | ||||
| Senior Notes | 5,725 | 2,450 | ||||
| Total debt | 8,391 | 5,447 | ||||
| Less: unamortized debt issuance costs (3) | (82) | (34) | ||||
| Total debt, net | $ | 8,309 | $ | 5,413 |
(1) Amount includes notes payable and finance leases.
(2) Amount includes real estate financing and notes payable.
(3) The unamortized debt issuance costs related to long-term debt are presented as a reduction of the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving debt agreements are presented within other assets on our consolidated balance sheets and not included here.
On April 26, 2022, we completed an equity offering of 15.6 million shares of Class A common stock for net proceeds of $1.2 billion. Also, on May 6, 2022, we issued $3.275 billion in senior unsecured notes due 2030. We are using the net proceeds from the Class A common stock offering for general corporate purposes and to pay any costs, fees and expenses incurred by us in connection with the offering. We used the net proceeds from the issuance and sale of the 2030 Notes (a) to finance the $2.2 billion ADESA Acquisition and other ancillary transactions in connection therewith, and to pay related fees and expenses in connection therewith and (b) for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.
Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (1,324) | $ | (2,594) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (2,583) | (627) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 3,899 | 3,528 | ||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (8) | 307 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 636 | 329 | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 628 | $ | 636 |
Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows result from the sales of retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, loans we originate, and ancillary products. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are purchases of inventory, personnel-related expenses, and cash used to acquire customers. Cash used in operating activities was $1.3 billion and $2.6 billion for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, a decrease of $1.3 billion, primarily due to decreases in cash used to acquire vehicle inventory, partially offset by increased selling, general and administrative expenses and reconditioning costs.
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Investing Activities
Our primary use of cash for investing activities is purchases of property and equipment to expand our operations. Cash used in investing activities was $2.6 billion and $627 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, an increase of $2.0 billion, primarily driven by our acquisition of the U.S. physical auction business of ADESA for approximately $2.2 billion, partially offset by a reduction in other capital expenditures in the second half of 2022.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to our short and long-term debt activity and proceeds from equity issuances which have been used to provide working capital, finance the $2.2 billion ADESA Acquisition, and for general corporate purposes, including paying down our short-term revolving facilities. Cash provided by financing activities was $3.9 billion and $3.5 billion during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, an increase of $371 million. The change primarily relates to increased net proceeds from long-term debt primarily from the issuance of our $3.275 billion 2030 Notes in May 2022 along with proceeds from the issuance of Class A common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022, partially offset by decreased net proceeds from short-term revolving facilities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We are party to contractual obligations involving commitments to third parties for which we believe we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and meet our obligations as they come due. These contractual obligations impact our liquidity and future capital requirements and primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, leases, short-term revolving facilities, financing of beneficial interests in securitizations, and other purchase obligations and commitments. See Note 8 — Finance Receivable Sale Agreements, Note 10 — Debt Instruments, Note 16 — Leases, and Note 17 — Commitments and Contingencies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information related to these contractual obligations and commitments.
Fair Value Measurements
We report money market securities, certain receivables, Warrants to acquire Root's Class A common stock and beneficial interests in securitizations at fair value. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statement and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have a material impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the recognition of income and expenses. The estimates and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The significant accounting estimates which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results are described below. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more detailed information regarding our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We sell retail vehicles directly to our customers through our website. We recognize revenue upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by a customer at the agreed upon purchase price stated in the contract, including any delivery charges, less an estimate for returns. Our return policy allows customers to initiate a return during the first seven days after delivery.
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Estimates for returns are based on an analysis of historical experience, trends and sales data. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Customers purchasing retail vehicles from us may enter into contracts for VSCs and, if they finance with us, GAP waiver coverage. The prices of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage are set forth in each contract. We sell and receive a commission on VSCs under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we sell VSCs that DriveTime administers and is the obligor. We receive a commission on GAP waiver coverage contracts where the administrator of the contract is obligated to reimburse the holder of the underlying finance receivable for a balance that is in excess of the value of the financed vehicle in the event of a total loss. We recognize commission revenue at the time of sale, net of a reserve for estimated contract cancellations. Our risk related to contract cancellations is limited to the commissions that we receive. Cancellations fluctuate depending on the customer-financing default or prepayment rates, and shifts in customer behavior, including those related to changes in the coverage or term of the product. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our contract cancellation reserves. The reserve for cancellations of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage is estimated based upon historical experience and recent trends and is reflected as a reduction of other sales and revenues. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Under the master dealer agreement with DriveTime, we are also contractually entitled to receive profit-sharing revenues based on the performance of the VSCs once a required claims period has passed. This is a form of variable consideration we recognize as revenue to the extent that it is probable that it will not result in a significant revenue reversal. We apply the expected value method, utilizing expected VSC performance based on historical claims and cancellation data from our customers, as well as other qualitative assumptions to estimate the amount we expect to receive. We reassess the estimate each reporting period with any changes reflected as an adjustment to other sales and revenues in the period identified. Profit-sharing payments will begin when the underlying VSCs reach a specified level of claims history.
Finance Receivables
Finance receivables include installment contracts we originate to facilitate vehicle sales. We classify these receivables as held for sale, as we do not intend to hold the finance receivables we originate to maturity. We typically sell the finance receivables we originate. We record a valuation allowance to report finance receivables at the lower of unpaid principal balance or fair value. To determine the fair value of finance receivables we utilize industry-standard modeling, such as discounted cash flow analysis, factoring in our historical experience, the credit quality of the underlying receivables, loss trends and recovery rates, as well as the overall economic environment. For purposes of determining the valuation allowance, finance receivables are evaluated collectively to determine the allowance as they represent a large group of smaller-balance homogeneous loans. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our valuation allowance. Principal balances of finance receivables are charged-off when we are unable to sell the finance receivable and the related vehicle has been repossessed and liquidated or the receivable has otherwise been deemed uncollectible. The estimates and trends used have historically been effective in our determination of our valuation allowance.
Beneficial Interests in Securitizations
The Company's beneficial interests in securitizations include rated notes and certificates and other assets, all of which are classified as Level 3 due to the lack of observable market data. The Company determines the fair value of its rated notes based on non-binding broker quotes. The non-binding broker quotes are based on models that consider the prevailing interest rates, recent market transactions, and current business conditions. The Company determines the fair value of its certificates and other assets using a combination of non-binding market quotes and internally developed discounted cash flow models. The discounted cash flow models use discount rates based on prevailing interest rates and the characteristics of the specific instruments. See Note 18 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the discount rates.
Significant increases or decreases in the inputs to the models could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The Company elected the fair value option on its beneficial interests in securitizations, which allows it to recognize changes in the fair value of these assets in the period the fair value changes resulting in a gain or loss in that period.
Valuation of Inventory
Vehicle inventory consists of used vehicles, primarily acquired directly from customers and at auction. Direct and indirect vehicle reconditioning costs including parts and labor, inbound transportation costs and other incremental costs are capitalized as a component of inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Vehicle inventory cost is determined by specific identification. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price less costs to complete, dispose and
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transport the vehicles. Selling prices are derived from historical data and trends, such as sales price and inventory turn times of similar vehicles, as well as independent market resources. Each reporting period we recognize any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value through cost of sales. To the extent that there are significant changes to estimated vehicle selling prices or decreases in demand for used vehicles, there could be significant adjustments to reflect our inventory at net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes pursuant to the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities related to the expected future tax consequences arising from temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Any effects of changes in income tax rates or laws are included in income tax expense in the period of enactment. We reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the evidence available, it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. In making the assessment under the more likely than not standard, appropriate consideration must be given to all positive and negative evidence related to the realization of the deferred tax assets. The assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry forward periods by jurisdiction, our experience with loss carryforwards not expiring unutilized, and all tax-planning alternatives that may be available. A valuation allowance is recognized if under applicable accounting standards we determine it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets would not be realized.
Business Combination Purchase Price Allocation
The purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition, with the excess purchase price being recorded as goodwill. The allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired is specifically complex because of the significant estimates and assumptions involved in determining their fair values. Due to this higher degree of complexity, we obtained the assistance of outside valuation experts in the allocation of purchase price to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. While outside valuation experts were used, management has the ultimate responsibility for the valuation methods, models and inputs used and the resulting purchase price allocation. Critical estimates used in valuing tangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, the similarity of the acquired real property to market comparable transactions, costs of similar personal property in new condition, and economic obsolescence rates. Critical estimates used in valuing identifiable intangible assets associated with the ADESA Acquisition include, but are not limited to, revenues and attrition rate.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess purchase price over the fair value of the net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested annually during the second quarter or more frequently when events or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. The Company has one operating segment, which is its reporting unit; therefore, management analyzes goodwill associated with all of its operations when analyzing for potential impairment. During the fourth quarter of 2022, our market capitalization declined significantly, with a closing stock price on December 27, 2022 at a historic low of $3.72 per share of Class A Common Stock. We determined that a triggering event had occurred, indicating it was more likely than not that the fair value of our single reporting unit was less than its carrying value as of December 31, 2022. Therefore, we performed a quantitative goodwill impairment test for our reporting unit as of December 31, 2022 and as a result recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $847 million, which was reflected as Goodwill impairment in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The quantitative goodwill impairment test requires a determination of whether the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying value. As of December 31, 2022, and because our single reporting unit had a negative carrying value, we utilized an enterprise value-based income approach to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. The income approach discounts projected free cash flows of the reporting unit at a computed weighted average cost of capital as the discount rate. The income approach requires the use of significant estimates and assumptions, which include revenue growth rates and future operating margins used to calculate projected future cash flows, weighted average cost of capital, and future economic and market conditions. In connection with this process, we also reconcile the estimated fair value of our reporting unit to our market capitalization, including consideration of a reasonable control premium, based upon our average stock price over a reasonable period as of the measurement date. We base our cash flow forecasts on our knowledge of the automotive industry, our recent
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performance, our expectations of future performance, and other assumptions we believe to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from those estimates.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001690820-22-000080.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Part I, including matters set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our financial statements and notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Except when stated otherwise, we present the discussion in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on a consolidated basis.
Overview
Carvana is the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. We are transforming the used car buying and selling experience by giving consumers what they want - a wide selection, great value and quality, transparent pricing, and a simple, no pressure transaction. Each element of our business, from inventory procurement to fulfillment and overall ease of the online transaction, has been built for this singular purpose.
See Part I, Item 1 - "Business" for a detailed description and discussion of the Company's business.
COVID-19 Update
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a global pandemic, and a number of state and local government authorities issued shelter in place and stay at home orders which negatively impacted our operations and the demand for used vehicles during the first half of 2020. During the second half of 2020 and continuing through December 2021, we have seen a recovery in general market conditions as demand for used vehicles has increased across our network, resulting in a 74.2% increase in used vehicle unit sales during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. We have experienced and may continue to experience ongoing effects from COVID-19 such as production or other operational constraints that may negatively impact our operations and costs. However, we believe we have been relatively successful in navigating the impact of COVID-19 on our business to date and believe our business model positions us well to scale up and down to meet expected customer demand during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are ongoing related risks to our business that depend on future developments related to the continuously evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the “Results of Operations” section of this Item below and certain risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly the first risk factor included there, for more detailed descriptions of the impacts and risks to our business. We continue to evaluate the nature and extent of the impact to our business and our results of operations and financial condition as conditions evolve as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Used Vehicle Unit Sales
Since launching to customers in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2013, we have experienced rapid growth in sales through our website www.carvana.com. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the number of vehicles we sold to retail customers grew by 74.2% to 425,237, compared to 244,111 in the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2020, our retail units sold grew by 37.5% to 244,111, compared to 177,549 in the year ended December 31, 2019. Our used vehicle sales in the year ended December 31, 2020 were negatively impacted at the onset of COVID-19 in the United States but have rebounded since then. We expect our used vehicle sales to grow in future periods with increased penetration in our current markets and expansion into new markets.
We view the number of vehicles we sell to retail customers as the most important measure of our growth, and we expect to continue to focus on building a scalable platform to increase our retail units sold. This focus on retail units sold is motivated by several factors:
•Retail units sold enable multiple revenue streams, including the sale of the vehicle itself, the sale of automotive finance receivables originated to finance the vehicle, the sale of VSCs, the sale of GAP waiver coverage, and the sale of vehicles acquired from customers.
•Retail units sold are the primary driver of customer referrals and repeat sales. Each time we sell a vehicle to a new customer, that customer may refer future customers and can become a repeat buyer in the future.
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•Retail units sold are an important driver of the average number of days between when we acquire the vehicle and when we sell it. Reducing average days to sale impacts gross profit on our vehicles because used vehicles depreciate over time.
•Retail units sold allow us to benefit from economies of scale due to our centralized online sales model. We believe our model provides meaningful operating leverage in acquisition, reconditioning, transport, customer service, and delivery.
We plan to invest in technology and infrastructure to support growth in retail units sold. This includes continued investment in our vehicle acquisition, reconditioning and logistics network, as well as continued investment in product development and engineering to deliver customers a best-in-class experience.
Markets and Population Coverage
Our growth in retail units sold is driven by increased penetration in our existing markets and expansion into new markets. We define a market as a metropolitan area in which we have commenced local advertising and offer free home delivery to customers with a Carvana employee in a branded delivery truck. Opening a new market involves hiring a team of customer advocates, connecting the market to our existing logistics network and initiating local advertising. As a market scales, we may elect to build a vending machine in the market to further increase customer awareness and enhance our fulfillment operations.
Our expansion model has enabled us to increase the number of markets we operate in each year, resulting in an increase in the total percentage of the U.S. population that we serve in each of the past nine years. Our market openings during 2021 increased the total percentage of the U.S. population served to 81.0% in 311 markets as of December 31, 2021 from 73.7% in 266 markets as of December 31, 2020. Over time, we have continually improved our market expansion playbook, which we believe provides us with the capability to efficiently execute our growth plan. We continually evaluate consumer demand and our operational capacity to determine our market opening and vending machine launch strategy.
When we open a market, we commence advertising using a blend of brand and direct advertising channels. Our advertising spend in each market is approximately proportionate to each market’s population, subject to adjustments based on specific characteristics of the market, used vehicle market seasonality, and special events such as vending machine openings. This historically has led to increased market penetration over time following the market opening. We also advertise on national television to increase brand awareness.
Revenue and Gross Profit
Our increased penetration in existing markets and expansion into new markets has led to growth in retail unit sales. We generate revenue on retail units sold from four primary sources: the sale of the vehicles, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicles, wholesale sales of vehicles we acquire from customers, and sales of ancillary products such as VSCs and GAP waiver coverage.
Our largest source of revenue, used vehicle sales, totaled $9.9 billion, $4.7 billion, and $3.4 billion during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. As we increase penetration in existing markets and expand to new ones, we expect used vehicle sales to increase along with retail units sold. We generate gross profit on used vehicle sales from the difference between the retail selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale.
Wholesale sales, which includes sales of trade-ins and other vehicles acquired from customers that do not meet the requirements for our retail inventory, totaled $1.9 billion, $445 million, and $267 million during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We expect wholesale sales to increase with retail units sold through trade-ins and as we expand our program of acquiring vehicles from customers who wish to sell us a car independent of a retail sale. We generate gross profit on wholesale vehicle sales from the difference between the wholesale selling price of the vehicle and our cost of sales associated with acquiring the vehicle and preparing it for sale.
Other sales and revenues, which primarily includes gains on the sales of automotive finance receivables we originate, sales commission on VSCs and sales of GAP waiver coverage totaled $1.0 billion, $401 million, and $252 million during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We expect other sales and revenues to increase with retail units sold. We also expect other sales and revenues to increase as we improve our ability to monetize loans we originate, including through securitization transactions, and sell and offer attractive financing solutions and ancillary products to our customers, including
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products customarily sold by automotive retailers or insurance products customarily sold by traditional insurance companies. Other sales and revenues are 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue.
During our growth phase, our highest priority, outside of safety, will continue to be providing exceptional customer experiences, increasing our brand awareness and building an infrastructure to support growth in retail units sold. Secondarily, we plan to pursue several strategies designed to increase our total gross profit per unit. These strategies include the following:
•Increase the purchase of vehicles from customers. We plan to grow the number of vehicles that we purchase from our customers either as trade-ins or independent of a retail sale. This in turn will grow our wholesale business, provide additional vehicles for our retail business, which are more profitable compared to the same vehicle acquired at auction, and expand our inventory selection.
•Reduce average days to sale. Our goal is generally to increase both our population coverage and our sales at a faster rate than we increase our inventory size, which we believe would decrease average days to sale due to a relative increase in demand versus supply. Reductions in average days to sale lead to fewer vehicle price reductions, and therefore higher average selling prices, all other factors being equal. Higher average selling prices in turn lead to higher gross profit per unit sold, all other factors being equal.
•Leverage existing IRC infrastructure. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity in our fourteen existing IRCs, which collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition approximately 800,000 vehicles per year at full utilization.
•Increase utilization of our logistics network. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize our in-house logistics network to transport cars to our IRCs after acquisition from customers or wholesale auctions.
•Increase conversion of existing products. We plan to continue to improve our website to highlight the benefits of our complementary product offerings, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and trade-ins.
•Add new products and services. We plan to utilize our online sales platform to offer additional complementary products and services to our customers.
•Increase monetization of our finance receivables. We plan to continue selling finance receivables in securitization transactions and otherwise expand our base of financial partners who purchase the finance receivables originated on our platform to reduce our effective cost of funds.
•Optimize purchasing and pricing. We are constantly improving the ways in which we predict customer demand, value vehicles sight unseen and optimize what we pay to acquire those vehicles. We also regularly test different pricing of our products, including vehicle sticker prices, trade-in and independent vehicle offers, and ancillary product prices, and we believe we can improve by further optimizing prices over time.
Seasonality
Used vehicle sales generally exhibit seasonality with sales peaking late in the first calendar quarter and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. Due to our rapid growth, our overall sales patterns to date have not reflected the general seasonality of the used vehicle industry, but we expect this to change once our business and markets mature. Used vehicle prices also exhibit seasonality, with used vehicles depreciating at a faster rate in the last two quarters of each year and a slower rate in the first two quarters of each year, all other factors being equal. We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. COVID-19 impacted used vehicle sales in the first and second quarters of 2020 and stimulus payments and labor impacts associated with the different waves of COVID-19 have had impacts on seasonality, and may continue to do so in ways that are uncertain. See COVID-19 Update in this Item. See Item 1A "Risk
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Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - We expect to experience seasonal and other fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, which may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business."
Investment in Growth
We have aggressively invested in the growth of our business and we expect this investment to continue during normal conditions. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially as we continue to expand our logistics network, increase our advertising spending, and serve more of the U.S. population. There is no guarantee that we will be able to realize the desired return on our investments.
Relationship with Related Parties
For discussion about our relationships with related parties, refer to Note 6 — Related Party Transactions of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Proxy Statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Key Operating Metrics
We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our progress and make strategic decisions. Our key operating metrics reflect the key drivers of our growth, including increasing brand awareness, enhancing the selection of vehicles we make available to our customers, and serving more of the U.S. population. Our key operating metrics also demonstrate our ability to translate these drivers into retail sales and to monetize these retail sales through a variety of product offerings.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Retail units sold | 425,237 | 244,111 | 177,549 | |||||||
| Population coverage | 81.0 | % | 73.7 | % | 66.9 | % | ||||
| Average monthly unique visitors (in thousands) | 17,854 | 8,535 | 5,123 | |||||||
| Number of IRCs | 14 | 11 | 7 | |||||||
| Total website units | 71,062 | 31,234 | 25,977 | |||||||
| Total gross profit per unit (1) | $ | 4,537 | $ | 3,252 | $ | 2,852 |
(1) Includes $0, $2, and $31, respectively, related to the 100k Milestone Gift.
Retail Units Sold
We define retail units sold as the number of vehicles sold to customers in a given period, net of returns under our seven-day return policy. We view retail units sold as a key measure of our growth for several reasons. First, retail units sold is the primary driver of our revenues and, indirectly, gross profit, since retail unit sales enable multiple complementary revenue streams, including financing, VSCs, GAP waiver coverage, and trade-ins. Second, growth in retail units sold increases the base of available customers for referrals and repeat sales. Third, growth in retail units sold is an indicator of our ability to successfully scale our logistics, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
Population Coverage
We previously reported number of markets as a key operating metric. As we have continued to grow, the population covered by these markets is increasingly a more important driver of our growth than the number of markets we serve. We define a market as a metropolitan area in which we have commenced local advertising and offer free home delivery to customers, which is typically conducted by a Carvana employee in a branded delivery truck. We define population coverage as the metropolitan statistical area population in the markets we serve at the end of the period divided by the total population in the U.S., based on 2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. We view the growth in population we serve as a key driver of our
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growth. As we increase our population coverage, the number of consumers who have access to our fully integrated customer experience increases, which in turn helps increase the number of vehicles we sell.
Average Monthly Unique Visitors
We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website within a calendar month, based on data provided by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the strength of our brand, the effectiveness of our advertising and merchandising campaigns, and consumer awareness of our brand.
Number of IRCs
Number of IRCs is a new key operating metric. An IRC is an industrial site where we inspect, recondition, photograph, and store vehicles for sale on our website. As we continue to grow, our number of IRCs is a more important metric than average days to sale due to the impact of IRC capacity on retail units sold and the relative stability of average days to sale in recent years. We define the number of IRCs as the number of owned or leased IRCs in which Carvana employees perform our 150-point inspection and recondition vehicles to “Carvana Certified” standards before sale to customers. As we scale, we intend to more fully utilize the capacity in our existing 14 IRCs, which, as of December 31, 2021, collectively have capacity to inspect and recondition approximately 800,000 vehicles per year at full utilization. As we increase our number of IRCs, we increase this capacity to inspect and recondition vehicles, which in turn increases the number of vehicles we can sell.
Total Website Units
We define total website units as the number of vehicles listed on our website on the last day of a given reporting period, including vehicles available for sale, vehicles currently engaged in a purchase or reserved by a customer, and vehicles that can be reserved that generally have not yet completed the inspection and reconditioning process. We view total website units as a key measure of our growth. Growth in total website units increases the selection of vehicles available to consumers, which we believe will allow us to increase the number of vehicles we sell. Moreover, growth in total website units indicates our ability to scale our vehicle purchasing, inspection and reconditioning operations. As part of our inventory strategy, over time we may choose not to expand total website units while continuing to grow sales, thereby improving other key operating metrics of the business.
Total Gross Profit per Unit
We define total gross profit per unit as the aggregate gross profit in a given period, divided by retail units sold in that period including gross profit generated from the sale of the used vehicle, gains on the sales of loans originated to finance the vehicle, commissions on sales of VSCs, revenue from GAP waiver coverage, and gross profit generated from wholesale sales of vehicles.
Components of Results of Operations
Used Vehicle Sales
Used vehicle sales represent the aggregate sales of used vehicles to customers through our website. Revenue from used vehicles sales is recognized upon delivery to the customer or pick up of the vehicle by the customer, and is reported net of a reserve for expected returns. Factors affecting used vehicle sales revenue include the number of retail units sold and the average selling price of these vehicles. Changes in retail units sold are a much larger driver of changes in revenue than are changes in average selling price.
The number of used vehicles we sell depends on the volume of traffic to our website, our population coverage, our inventory selection, the effectiveness of our branding and marketing efforts, the quality of our customer's purchase experience, our volume of referrals and repeat customers, the competitiveness of our pricing, competition from other used car dealerships and general economic conditions. Absent the impact of COVID-19, on a quarterly basis, the number of used vehicles we sell is also affected by seasonality, with demand for used vehicles reaching a seasonal high point late in the first quarter of each year, commensurate with the timing of tax refunds, and diminishing through the rest of the year, with the lowest relative level of used vehicle sales expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter. The impact of COVID-19 and related stimulus payments and labor impacts on seasonality is uncertain.
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Our retail average selling price depends on the mix of vehicles we acquire, retail prices in our markets, our average days to sale and our pricing strategy. We may choose to shift our inventory mix to higher or lower cost vehicles, or to raise or lower our prices relative to market to take advantage of supply or demand imbalances, which could temporarily lead to average selling prices increasing or decreasing. We also generally expect lower average days to sale to be associated with higher retail average selling prices due to decreased vehicle depreciation prior to sale, all other factors being equal.
Wholesale Vehicle Sales
Wholesale vehicle sales is equal to the aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to wholesalers. The vehicles we sell to wholesalers are primarily acquired from customers who sell a vehicle to us without purchasing a retail vehicle and from our customers who trade-in their existing vehicles when making a purchase from us. Factors affecting wholesale vehicle sales include the number of wholesale units sold and the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles. The average selling price of our wholesale units is primarily driven by the mix of vehicles we sell to wholesalers, as well as general supply and demand conditions in the applicable wholesale vehicle market, both of which have been impacted by COVID-19. Beginning in 2020, wholesale vehicle sales includes aggregate proceeds we receive on vehicles sold to DriveTime through competitive online auctions that are managed by an unrelated third party.
Other Sales and Revenues
We generate other sales and revenues primarily through the sales of loans we originate and sell in securitization transactions or to financing partners, reported net of a reserve for expected repurchases, commissions we receive on VSCs and sales of GAP waiver coverage. In 2016, we entered into a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we receive a commission for selling VSCs that DriveTime administers. The commission revenues we recognize on VSCs depends on the number of retail units we sell, the conversion rate of VSCs on these sales, commission rates we receive, VSC early cancellation frequency and product features. The GAP waiver coverage revenue we recognize depends on the number of retail units we sell, the number of customers that choose to finance their purchases with us, the frequency of GAP waiver coverage early cancellation, and the conversion rate of GAP waiver coverage on those sales.
We generally seek to sell the loans we originate to securitization trusts we sponsor and establish or to financing partners. The securitization trusts issue asset-backed securities, some of which are collateralized by the finance receivables that we sell to the securitization trusts. We also sell the loans we originate under committed forward-flow arrangements, including a master purchase and sale agreement and master transfer agreements, and through fixed pool loan sales, with financing partners who generally acquire them at premium prices without recourse to us for their post-sale performance. Factors affecting revenue from these sales include the number of loans we originate, the average principal balance of the loans, the credit quality of the portfolio, and the price at which we are able to sell them in securitization transactions or to financing partners.
The number of loans we originate is driven by the number of used vehicles sold and the percentage of our sales for which we provide financing, which is influenced by the financing terms we offer our customers relative to alternatives available to the customer. The average principal balance is driven primarily by the mix of vehicles we sell, since higher average selling prices typically mean higher average balances. The price at which we sell the loan is driven by the terms of our securitization transactions and forward-flow arrangement, applicable interest rates, and whether or not the loan includes GAP waiver coverage.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the cost to acquire, recondition, and transport vehicles associated with preparing them for resale. Vehicle acquisition costs are driven by the mix of vehicles we acquire, the source of those vehicles, and supply-and-demand dynamics in the wholesale vehicle market. Reconditioning costs consist of direct costs, including parts, labor, and third-party repair expenses directly attributable to specific vehicles, as well as indirect costs, such as IRC overhead. Transportation costs consist of costs incurred to transport the vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC. Cost of sales also includes any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value.
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Used Vehicle Gross Profit
Used vehicle gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our costs of sales associated with vehicles that we list and sell on our website. Used vehicle gross profit per unit is our aggregate used vehicle gross profit in any measurement period divided by the number of retail units sold in that period.
Wholesale Vehicle Gross Profit
Wholesale vehicle gross profit is the vehicle sales price minus our cost of sales associated with vehicles we sell to wholesalers. Factors affecting wholesale gross profit include the number of wholesale units sold, the average wholesale selling price of these vehicles, and the average acquisition price associated with these vehicles.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in revenues from these products and the associated drivers.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses include expenses associated with advertising and providing customer service to customers, operating our vending machines and hubs, operating our logistics and fulfillment network and other corporate overhead expenses, including expenses associated with information technology, product development, engineering, legal, accounting, finance, and business development. We anticipate that these expenses will increase as we grow. SG&A expenses exclude the costs of inspecting and reconditioning vehicles and transporting vehicles from the point of acquisition to the IRC, which are included in cost of sales, and payroll costs for our employees related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Interest Expense
Interest expense includes interest incurred on our Senior Notes, including amounts previously due to Verde, our Floor Plan Facility, and our Finance Receivable Facilities (each as defined in Note 9 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), as well as our notes payable, finance leases, and long-term debt, which are used to fund general working capital, our inventory, our transportation fleet, and certain of our property and equipment. Interest expense excludes interest incurred during various construction projects to build, upgrade, or remodel certain facilities, which is capitalized to property and equipment and depreciated over the estimated lives of the related assets.
Other Expense (Income)
Other expense (income), net includes changes in fair value on our beneficial interests in securitizations, purchase price adjustment receivables, and fair value adjustments related to our warrants to acquire Root Class A common stock as discussed in Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, along with other general expenses such as gains or losses from disposals of long-lived assets.
Income Tax Provision
Income taxes are recognized based upon our anticipated underlying annual blended federal and state income tax rates adjusted, as necessary, for any discrete tax matters occurring during the period. As the sole managing member of Carvana Group, LLC (“Carvana Group”), Carvana Co. consolidates the financial results of Carvana Group. Carvana Group is treated as a partnership and therefore not subject to U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Carvana Group is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including Carvana Co., based on its economic interest held in Carvana Group. Carvana Co. is taxed as a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Carvana Group, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by Carvana Co. As of December 31, 2021, the Company's income tax expense is related to certain subsidiaries.
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Results of Operations
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2019 | Change | |||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except per unit amounts) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net sales and operating revenues: | |||||||||||||||||
| Used vehicle sales, net | $ | 9,851 | $ | 4,741 | 107.8 | % | $ | 3,421 | 38.6 | % | |||||||
| Wholesale vehicle sales (1) | 1,920 | 445 | 331.5 | % | 267 | 66.7 | % | ||||||||||
| Other sales and revenues (2) | 1,043 | 401 | 160.1 | % | 252 | 59.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Total net sales and operating revenues | $ | 12,814 | $ | 5,587 | 129.4 | % | $ | 3,940 | 41.8 | % | |||||||
| Gross profit: | |||||||||||||||||
| Used vehicle gross profit | $ | 697 | $ | 359 | 94.2 | % | $ | 238 | 50.8 | % | |||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit (1) | 189 | 34 | 455.9 | % | 17 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||||
| Other gross profit (2) | 1,043 | 401 | 160.1 | % | 252 | 59.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 1,929 | $ | 794 | 142.9 | % | $ | 507 | 56.6 | % | |||||||
| Unit sales information: | |||||||||||||||||
| Used vehicle unit sales | 425,237 | 244,111 | 74.2 | % | 177,549 | 37.5 | % | ||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle unit sales | 170,056 | 55,204 | 208.1 | % | 39,895 | 38.4 | % | ||||||||||
| Per unit selling prices: | |||||||||||||||||
| Used vehicles | $ | 23,167 | $ | 19,420 | 19.3 | % | $ | 19,266 | 0.8 | % | |||||||
| Wholesale vehicles | $ | 11,287 | $ | 8,065 | 40.0 | % | $ | 6,707 | 20.2 | % | |||||||
| Per unit gross profit: | |||||||||||||||||
| Used vehicle gross profit | $ | 1,638 | $ | 1,472 | 11.3 | % | $ | 1,340 | 9.9 | % | |||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit | 446 | 138 | 223.2 | % | 94 | 46.8 | % | ||||||||||
| Other gross profit | 2,453 | 1,642 | 49.4 | % | 1,418 | 15.8 | % | ||||||||||
| Total gross profit | $ | 4,537 | $ | 3,252 | 39.5 | % | $ | 2,852 | 14.0 | % | |||||||
| Per wholesale unit gross profit: | |||||||||||||||||
| Wholesale vehicle gross profit | $ | 1,116 | $ | 610 | 83.0 | % | $ | 422 | 44.5 | % |
(1) Includes $54, $4, and $0, respectively, of wholesale revenue from related parties.
(2) Includes $208, $105, and $60, respectively, of other sales and revenues from related parties.
Used Vehicle Sales
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Used vehicle sales increased by $5.2 billion to $9.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $4.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of used vehicles sold to 425,237 from 244,111 during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase in units sold was driven by growth in existing markets due to expanded inventory selection, enhanced marketing efforts, increased brand awareness, customer referrals, and growth in market population coverage to 81.0% as of December 31, 2021 from 73.7% as of December 31, 2020. In addition, the average selling price of our retail units sold increased to $23,167 in the year ended December 31, 2021 from $19,420 in the prior year, due primarily to overall appreciation in the used vehicle market compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Used vehicle sales increased by $1.3 billion to $4.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $3.4 billion during the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of used vehicles sold to 244,111 from 177,549 during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase in units sold was driven by growth in existing markets due to expanded inventory selection, enhanced marketing efforts, increased brand awareness, and customer referrals. The increase in unit sales was also driven by growth to 266 markets as of December 31, 2020 from 146 markets as of December 31, 2019. In addition, the average selling price of our retail units sold increased to $19,420 in the year ended December 31, 2020 from $19,266 in the prior year, due primarily to vehicle mix.
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Wholesale Vehicle Sales
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Wholesale vehicle sales increased by $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $445 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. We have seen an increase in wholesale vehicle sales as we have increased the number of vehicles acquired from customers who did not purchase a retail vehicle from us and through trade-ins received for retail units sold. In addition, the average selling price of our wholesale units sold increased to $11,287 during the year ended December 31, 2021 from $8,065 during the year ended December 31, 2020, due to the mix of vehicles acquired from customers and strong wholesale market prices.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Wholesale vehicle sales increased by $178 million to $445 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $267 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. We primarily obtain our wholesale inventory by acquiring vehicles from customers. As our retail unit sales increased, so did the trade-ins we received. Moreover, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we also acquired more vehicles from customers who did not purchase a retail unit from us. In addition, the average selling price of our wholesale units sold increased to $8,065 during the year ended December 31, 2020 from $6,707 during the year ended December 31, 2019, due primarily to the mix of vehicles acquired from customers and strong wholesale market prices.
Other Sales and Revenues
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Other sales and revenues primarily consist of gains on the sales of finance receivables we originate, commissions we receive on sales of VSCs and sales of GAP waiver coverage. Other sales and revenues increased by $642 million to $1.0 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $401 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily driven by originating and selling more finance receivables due to our increased retail unit sales and higher average sale price, resulting in an increase in gain on loan sale. Additionally, the increase was due to an increase in retail units sold, which led to an increase in VSC sales, along with an increase in interest income during the year ended December 31, 2021 from interest earned on finance receivables held on balance sheet prior to selling them throughout the year.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Other sales and revenues increased by $149 million to $401 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $252 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was primarily driven by originating and selling more finance receivables, resulting in an increase in gain on loan sale. Additionally, the increase in retail units sold, led to an increase in VSC sales and GAP waiver coverage sales, along with an increase in interest income during the year ended December 31, 2020 from interest earned on finance receivables held on balance sheet prior to selling them throughout the year.
Used Vehicle Gross Profit
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Used vehicle gross profit increased by $338 million to $697 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $359 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in retail units sold, as well as an increase in used vehicle gross profit per unit to $1,638 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $1,472 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The per unit increase was primarily driven by acquiring more vehicles from customers.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Used vehicle gross profit increased by $121 million to $359 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $238 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in retail units sold, as well as an increase in used vehicle gross profit per unit to $1,472 for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $1,340 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The per unit increase was primarily driven by acquiring more vehicles from customers.
Wholesale Vehicle Gross Profit
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Wholesale vehicle gross profit increased by $155 million to $189 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $34 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in wholesale units sold to 170,056 during the year ended December 31, 2021 from 55,204 in the prior year, along with an increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $1,116 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $610 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in number of wholesale vehicles sold and the improved gross
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profit per wholesale unit were primarily due to acquiring more vehicles from customers and strong wholesale market prices, respectively.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Wholesale vehicle gross profit increased by $17 million to $34 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $17 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was driven primarily by an increase in wholesale units sold to 55,204 during the year ended December 31, 2020 from 39,895 in the prior year, along with an increase in wholesale vehicle gross profit per wholesale unit to $610 for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $422 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in number of wholesale vehicles sold and the improved gross profit per wholesale unit were primarily due to acquiring more vehicles from customers and strong wholesale market prices in the latter part of 2020, respectively.
Other Gross Profit
Other sales and revenues consist of 100% gross margin products for which gross profit equals revenue. Therefore, changes in other gross profit and the associated drivers are identical to changes in other sales and revenues and the associated drivers.
Components of SG&A
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||||
| Compensation and benefits (1) | $ | 667 | $ | 338 | $ | 245 | ||||
| Advertising | 479 | 286 | 204 | |||||||
| Market occupancy (2) | 70 | 37 | 21 | |||||||
| Logistics (3) | 148 | 77 | 58 | |||||||
| Other (4) | 669 | 388 | 259 | |||||||
| Total | $ | 2,033 | $ | 1,126 | $ | 787 |
(1) Compensation and benefits includes all payroll and related costs, including benefits, payroll taxes, and equity-based compensation, except those related to preparing vehicles for sale, which are included in cost of sales, and those related to the development of software products for internal use, which are capitalized to software and depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
(2) Market occupancy costs includes occupancy costs of our vending machines and hubs. It excludes occupancy costs related to reconditioning vehicles which are included in cost of sales and the portion related to corporate occupancy which are included in other costs.
(3) Logistics includes fuel, maintenance, and depreciation related to operating our own transportation fleet, and third-party transportation fees, except the portion related to inbound transportation, which is included in cost of sales.
(4) Other costs include all other selling, general, and administrative expenses such as IT expenses, corporate occupancy, professional services and insurance, limited warranty, and title and registration.
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $907 million to $2.0 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $1.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was partially due to an increase in compensation and benefits of $329 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, which was primarily driven by expansion of our teams to support current and future growth. Advertising expense increased $193 million to $479 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $286 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily due to an increase in advertising to drive growth in units sold and acquired from customers. Market occupancy, logistics, and other expenses also increased during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the number of units sold, and in preparation for future growth.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $339 million to $1.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $787 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was partially due to an increase in compensation and benefits of $93 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, which was primarily driven by expansion of our teams to support our growth. The increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses was also due to an increase in advertising expense of $82 million to $286 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $204 million during the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily due to an increase in advertising to drive growth in units sold and acquired from customers. Market occupancy, logistics, and other expenses also increased during the year ended
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December 31, 2020 compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the number of units sold, population coverage, and in preparation for future growth. These increases were partially offset by efforts to decrease and balance discretionary spend as a result of the uncertain economic environment surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interest Expense
Fiscal 2021 Versus 2020. Interest expense increased by $45 million to $176 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $131 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase is primarily due to issuing our 2027 Notes and 2029 Notes, which resulted in approximately $14 million of increased interest expense. Interest expense also increased due to additional sale leaseback financing and borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to 2020.
Fiscal 2020 Versus 2019. Interest expense increased by $50 million to $131 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $81 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to refinancing our Senior Notes, which resulted in approximately $34 million of debt extinguishment costs upon redemption of the 2023 Notes in the fourth quarter of 2020. The remaining increase was primarily due to additional senior notes issuance and sale leaseback financing, partially offset by a decrease in borrowings on our Floor Plan Facility during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to 2019.
Other Expense (Income), Net
Other expense (income), net changed by $7 million to expense of $6 million compared to income of $1 million during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The changes are primarily due to fair value adjustments on our warrants to acquire Root Class A common stock, and on our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and purchase price adjustment receivables compared to 2020, when capital markets and loan performance assumptions were more uncertain, primarily due to COVID-19.
Income Tax Provision
We recognized an income tax expense of $1 million and an income tax benefit of less than $1 million in the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, from certain subsidiaries. We did not recognize an income tax expense or benefit during the year ended December 31, 2019.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we also present the following non-GAAP measures: EBITDA and EBITDA margin. We believe the presentation of both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with increased transparency into financial measures used by our management team, and it also improves investors’ understanding of our underlying operating performance and their ability to analyze our ongoing operating trends. All historic non-GAAP financial measures have been reconciled with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.
EBITDA and EBITDA Margin
EBITDA and EBITDA Margin are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered an alternative to net loss or cash flow from operations, as determined by GAAP. EBITDA is defined as net loss before interest expense, income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization expense. EBITDA Margin is EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues. We use EBITDA to measure the operating performance of our business and EBITDA Margin to measure our operating performance relative to our total revenues. We believe that EBITDA and EBITDA Margin are useful measures to us and to our investors because they exclude certain financial and capital structure items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations, in part because they may vary widely across time and within our industry independent of the performance of our core operations. We believe that excluding these items enables us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period and relative to our competitors. EBITDA and EBITDA Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures provided by other companies due to potential differences
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in methods of calculations. A reconciliation of EBITDA to net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, and calculation of EBITDA Margin is as follows:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (287) | $ | (462) | $ | (365) | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense | 105 | 74 | 41 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 176 | 131 | 81 | |||||||
| Income tax provision | 1 | — | — | |||||||
| EBITDA | $ | (5) | $ | (257) | $ | (243) | ||||
| Total revenues | $ | 12,814 | $ | 5,587 | $ | 3,940 | ||||
| EBITDA Margin | (0.0) | % | (4.6) | % | (6.2) | % |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
We generate cash from the sale of used retail vehicles, the sale of wholesale vehicles, proceeds from the sale of finance receivables originated in connection with the sale of used vehicles, and ancillary products. We generate additional cash flows through our financing activities including our short-term revolving inventory and finance receivable facilities, real estate and equipment financing, the issuance of long-term notes, and new issuances of equity. Historically, cash generated from financing activities has funded growth and expansion into new markets and strategic initiatives and we expect this to continue in the future.
Our ability to service our debt and fund working capital, capital expenditures, and business development efforts will depend on our ability to generate cash from operating and financing activities, which is subject to our future operating performance, as well as to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, some of which may be beyond our control. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, our construction of IRCs and vending machines, the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and software development efforts, and increased population coverage. Additionally, as disclosed in Note 9 — Debt Instruments of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are subject to certain restrictive covenants that limit our ability to, among other things, make intercompany payments and pay dividends.
We had the following liquidity resources available as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 403 | $ | 301 | ||
| Availability under short-term revolving facilities(1) | 438 | 1,088 | ||||
| Availability under sale-leaseback agreements | — | 19 | ||||
| Committed liquidity resources available | 841 | 1,408 | ||||
| Unpledged vehicle inventory not included above | 665 | — | ||||
| Unpledged real estate not included above | 677 | 250 | ||||
| Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations | 100 | 48 | ||||
| Total liquidity resources | $ | 2,283 | $ | 1,706 |
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(1) Based on pledging all eligible vehicles and finance receivables under the available commitment in the Floor Plan Facility and Finance Receivable Facilities, excluding the impact to restricted cash requirements.
Our total liquidity resources is composed of cash and equivalents, availability under existing credit facilities, and additional unpledged assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, real estate, and securities, on our balance sheet that can be financed using traditional asset-based financing sources.
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash deposits and highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as money market funds.
Availability under short-term revolving facilities is the available amount we can borrow under our existing vehicle inventory floor plan and finance receivable facilities based on the pledgable value of vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date. Availability under short-term revolving facilities is distinct from the total commitment amount of these facilities because it represents the currently borrowable amount, rather than committed future amounts that could be borrowed to finance future additional assets.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the short-term revolving facilities had a total commitment of approximately $4.3 billion and $2.25 billion, an outstanding balance of $2.05 billion and $40 million, and an unused commitment of $2.25 billion and $2.21 billion, respectively.
Availability under real estate agreements is the available amount we can borrow under our existing real estate financing agreements based on the value of existing real estate on our balance sheet. From time to time, we may enter into committed real estate financing agreements that allow for future pledging of real estate assets on a flexible timeline. We began using committed real estate financing agreements in 2017 and may do so in the future.
Unpledged vehicle inventory and finance receivables is the value of vehicle inventory and finance receivables on our balance sheet on the period end date beyond that covered by committed financing agreements. On February 1, 2022, we upsized our vehicle inventory floor plan commitment to $3.0 billion. The additional commitment would increase our availability under short-term revolving facilities and committed liquidity sources available by $665 million, with a corresponding reduction in unpledged vehicle inventory and finance receivables.
Unpledged real estate assets include IRC and vending machine real estate assets that have not been previously pledged or sold. Since our first sale-leaseback transaction in 2017, we have historically had flexible access to real estate financing and expect to continue to use various forms of real estate financing in the future.
Unpledged beneficial interests in securitizations includes retained beneficial interests in securitizations that have not been previously pledged or sold. We historically have financed the majority of our retained beneficial interests in securitizations and expect to continue to do so in the future.
To optimize our cost of capital, in any given period we may choose not to maximize borrowings on our short-term revolving facilities, maximize revolving commitment size, or immediately sale-leaseback or pledge real estate and retained beneficial interests in securitizations. This has the benefit of reducing interest expense and debt issuance costs and providing flexibility to minimize financing costs over time.
We consider our total liquidity resources as an input into our planning. In general, changes in total liquidity resources fall into two broad categories: changes due to current business operations and changes due to investments in automotive retail assets.
Changes in liquidity due to current business operations include EBITDA net of share-based compensation, non-real estate capital expenditures, including technology, furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and changes in traditional working capital, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other miscellaneous assets and liabilities.
In addition, as a growing automotive retailer, we also invest in and generate several types of automotive retail assets, including vehicle inventory, finance receivables, retained beneficial interests in securitizations, and real estate. To maximize capital efficiency, we generally seek to finance these assets with matched sources of asset-based financing, including short-term revolving facilities for vehicle inventory and finance receivables, beneficial interests financing for retained beneficial interests
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in securitizations, and sale-leaseback or other real estate financing for IRCs and vending machines. We have historically used these sources of financing to finance our investment in these assets and expect to continue to do so in the future.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our outstanding principal amount of indebtedness, including finance leases, was approximately $5.4 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, summarized in the table below. See Note 9 — Debt Instruments and Note 15 — Leases of our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for definitions and further information on our debt and finance leases.
| December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| (in millions) | ||||||
| Asset-Based Financing: | ||||||
| Inventory | $ | 1,877 | $ | 40 | ||
| Finance receivables and beneficial interests | 458 | 81 | ||||
| Transportation fleet (1) | 212 | 124 | ||||
| Real estate (2) | 450 | 398 | ||||
| Total asset-based financing | 2,997 | 643 | ||||
| Senior Notes | 2,450 | 1,100 | ||||
| Total debt | 5,447 | 1,743 | ||||
| Less: unamortized debt issuance costs (3) | (34) | (21) | ||||
| Total debt, net | $ | 5,413 | $ | 1,722 |
(1) Amount includes notes payable and finance leases.
(2) Amount includes real estate financing and notes payable.
(3) The unamortized debt issuance costs related to long-term debt are presented as a reduction of the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to revolving debt arrangements are presented within other assets on our consolidated balance sheets and not included here.
Cash Flows
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (2,594) | $ | (608) | $ | (757) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (627) | (346) | (228) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 3,528 | 1,165 | 1,015 | |||||||
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 307 | 211 | 30 | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 329 | 118 | 88 | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 636 | $ | 329 | $ | 118 |
Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows result from the sales of used retail vehicles, wholesale vehicles, finance receivables we originate, and ancillary products. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are purchases of inventory, cash used to acquire customers, and personnel-related expenses. For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was approximately $2.6 billion, an increase of $2.0 billion compared to net cash used in operating activities of $608 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was a decrease of $149 million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $757 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The changes in our net cash used in operating
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activities were primarily due to our changes in working capital, primarily related to the increase in our vehicle inventory, partially offset by the net cash inflows associated with the change in accounts payable and accrued liabilities.
Investing Activities
Our primary use of cash for investing activities is purchases of property and equipment to expand our operations. Cash used in investing activities was approximately $627 million, $346 million, and $228 million during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively, resulting in increases of approximately $281 million and $118 million. The increases were primarily driven by increases in purchases of property and equipment, specifically related to the construction of new IRCs and vending machines, and our investment in Root in October 2021, partially offset by increases in principal payments received on beneficial interests in securitizations. Constructing new IRCs and vending machines allows us to recondition more vehicles and reach additional customers. To finance these investments we have entered into various financing transactions, such as sale-leasebacks.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to our short and long-term debt activity and proceeds from equity issuances which have been used to provide working capital and for general corporate purposes, including paying down our short-term revolving facilities. Cash provided by financing activities was approximately $3.5 billion and $1.2 billion during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, an increase of $2.3 billion. The change primarily relates to increased net proceeds of $2.5 billion from changes in our short-term revolving facilities, along with increased net proceeds from long-term debt proceeds of approximately $895 million. These increases were partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of Class A common stock of approximately $1.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020. Cash provided by financing activities was approximately $1.2 billion and $1.0 billion during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, an increase of $150 million. The change primarily relates to increased proceeds from the issuance of Class A common stock of $762 million, along with increased net proceeds from long-term debt of approximately $216 million. The increases were partially offset by a net decrease in proceeds from short-term revolving facilities of $796 million.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We expect our primary sources of cash to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities for at least the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future. The following table sets forth the amounts of our significant contractual obligations and commitments with definitive payment terms as of December 31, 2021:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | ||||||||||||||
| Floor Plan Facility(1)(2) | $ | 1,877 | $ | 1,877 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Finance Receivable Facilities(1)(3) | 176 | 176 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Senior Notes(1) | 2,450 | — | — | 500 | 1,950 | |||||||||||||
| Notes payable (1) | 10 | 6 | 4 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Financing of beneficial interests in securitizations(1)(4) | 282 | 94 | 132 | 53 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Finance leases | 206 | 52 | 93 | 57 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Interest payments(5) | 877 | 145 | 278 | 241 | 213 | |||||||||||||
| Real estate financing | 928 | 35 | 72 | 75 | 746 | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases, non-related party | 534 | 51 | 106 | 109 | 268 | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases, related party(6) | 20 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Real estate commitments(7) | 153 | 153 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 7,513 | $ | 2,594 | $ | 693 | $ | 1,039 | $ | 3,187 |
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(1) All debt arrangements above are discussed and defined in Note 9 — Debt Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(2) Represents the principal amounts outstanding as of December 31, 2021. Due to the uncertainty of forecasting the timing of expected variable interest rate payments, interest payment amounts are not included in the table. Borrowings under the Floor Plan Facility are generally payable within five business days of the sale of the underlying vehicle or fifteen business days of the sale of the finance receivable originated in connection with the sale of the vehicle. In either case, the payment is expected to be within one year of December 31, 2021.
(3) Represents the principal amounts outstanding as of December 31, 2021. Due to the uncertainty of forecasting the timing of expected variable interest rate payments, interest payment amounts are not included in the table. Interest payments on borrowings under the Finance Receivable Facilities are expected to be paid in the first fifteen days of each calendar month.
(4) The securitization trusts distribute payments directly to the lender related to our pledged beneficial interests in securitizations. These amounts represent anticipated principal amount reductions based on the expected timing of these payments. Due to the uncertainty of forecasting the expected interest payments, interest payment amounts are not included in the table.
(5) Represents fixed interest payments on our outstanding Senior Notes, notes payable, and finance leases.
(6) Related party operating lease payments exclude rent payments due under the DriveTime Lease Agreement and the DriveTime Hub Lease Agreement for locations where we share space with DriveTime, as those are contingent upon the Company's utilization of the leased assets, and thus can vary, as further discussed in Note 6 — Related Party Transactions, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(7) Includes minimum remaining fixed payments related to IRC and vending machine construction contracts, excluding variable installation costs, which fluctuate based on actual completion time.
Fair Value Measurements
We report money market securities, certain receivables, warrants to acquire Root Class A common stock and beneficial interests in securitizations at fair value. See Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this item by reference.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, impacting our reported results of operations and financial condition.
Certain accounting policies involve significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have a material impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities and the recognition of income and expenses. The estimates and assumptions used by management are based on historical experience and other factors, which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The significant accounting estimates which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results are described below. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more detailed information regarding our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We sell used vehicles directly to our customers through our website. We recognize revenue at the agreed upon purchase price stated in the contract, including any delivery charges, less an estimate for returns. Our return policy allows customers to initiate a return during the first seven days after delivery. Estimates for returns are based on an analysis of historical experience, trends and sales data. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Customers purchasing used vehicles from us may enter into contracts for VSCs and, if they finance with us, GAP waiver coverage. The prices of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage are set forth in each contract. We sell and receive a commission on VSCs under a master dealer agreement with DriveTime, pursuant to which we sell VSCs that DriveTime administers and is the
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obligor. We receive a commission on GAP waiver coverage contracts where the administrator of the contract is obligated to reimburse the holder of the underlying finance receivable for a balance that is in excess of the value of the financed vehicle in the event of a total loss. We recognize commission revenue at the time of sale, net of a reserve for estimated contract cancellations. Our risk related to contract cancellations is limited to the commissions that we receive. Cancellations fluctuate depending on the customer-financing default or prepayment rates, and shifts in customer behavior, including those related to changes in the coverage or term of the product. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our contract cancellation reserves. The reserve for cancellations of VSCs and GAP waiver coverage is estimated based upon historical experience and recent trends and is reflected as a reduction of other sales and revenues. Changes in these estimates are reflected as an adjustment to revenue in the period identified.
Under the master dealer agreement with DriveTime, we are also contractually entitled to receive profit-sharing revenues based on the performance of the VSCs once a required claims period has passed. This is a form of variable consideration we recognize as revenue to the extent that it is probable that it will not result in a significant revenue reversal. We apply the expected value method, utilizing expected VSC performance based on historical claims and cancellation data from our customers, as well as other qualitative assumptions to estimate the amount we expect to receive. We reassess the estimate each reporting period with any changes reflected as an adjustment to other sales and revenues in the period identified. Profit-sharing payments will begin when the underlying VSCs reach a specified level of claims history.
Finance Receivables
Finance receivables include installment contracts we originate to facilitate vehicle sales. We classify these receivables as held for sale, as we do not intend to hold the finance receivables we originate to maturity. We typically sell the finance receivables we originate. We record a valuation allowance to report finance receivables at the lower of unpaid principal balance or fair value. To determine the fair value of finance receivables we utilize industry-standard modeling, such as discounted cash flow analysis, factoring in our historical experience, the credit quality of the underlying receivables, loss trends and recovery rates, as well as the overall economic environment. For purposes of determining the valuation allowance, finance receivables are evaluated collectively to determine the allowance as they represent a large group of smaller-balance homogeneous loans. To the extent that actual experience differs from historical trends, there could be significant adjustments to our valuation allowance. Principal balances of finance receivables are charged-off when we are unable to sell the finance receivable and the related vehicle has been repossessed and liquidated or the receivable has otherwise been deemed uncollectible. The estimates and trends used have historically been effective in our determination of our valuation allowance.
Beneficial Interests in Securitizations
The Company's beneficial interests in securitizations include rated notes and certificates and other assets, all of which are classified as Level 3 due to the lack of observable market data. The Company determines the fair value of its rated notes based on non-binding broker quotes. The non-binding broker quotes are based on models that consider the prevailing interest rates, recent market transactions, and current business conditions. The Company determines the fair value of its certificates and other assets using a combination of non-binding market quotes and internally developed discounted cash flow models. The discounted cash flow models use discount rates based on prevailing interest rates and the characteristics of the specific instruments. See Note 17 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the discount rates.
Significant increases or decreases in the inputs to the models could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The Company elected the fair value option on its beneficial interests in securitizations, which allows it to recognize changes in the fair value of these assets in the period the fair value changes resulting in a gain or loss in that period.
Valuation of Inventory
Vehicle inventory consists of used vehicles, primarily acquired directly from customers and at auction. Direct and indirect vehicle reconditioning costs including parts and labor, inbound transportation costs and other incremental costs are capitalized as a component of inventory. Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Vehicle inventory cost is determined by specific identification. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price less costs to complete, dispose and transport the vehicles. Selling prices are derived from historical data and trends, such as sales price and inventory turn times of similar vehicles, as well as independent market resources. Each reporting period we recognize any necessary adjustments to reflect vehicle inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value through cost of sales. To the extent that there are significant
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changes to estimated vehicle selling prices or decreases in demand for used vehicles, there could be significant adjustments to reflect our inventory at net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes pursuant to the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities related to the expected future tax consequences arising from temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Any effects of changes in income tax rates or laws are included in income tax expense in the period of enactment. We reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the evidence available, it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. In making the assessment under the more likely than not standard, appropriate consideration must be given to all positive and negative evidence related to the realization of the deferred tax assets. The assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry forward periods by jurisdiction, our experience with loss carryforwards not expiring unutilized, and all tax-planning alternatives that may be available. A valuation allowance is recognized if under applicable accounting standards we determine it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets would not be realized.