Vending

Carvana improves Q4, FY 2020 revenue as losses widen

Image courtesy of Carvana.

March 1, 2021

Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying used cars that delivers cars to customers with a massive, coin-operated vending machine, boosted its revenue for Q4 and full year 2020 as losses widened over 2019, according to an earnings release.

Revenue for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2020 increased 65% from $1.1 billion in Q4 2019 to $1.82 billion in 2020. The number of used vehicles sold rose 43% from 50,379 units in Q4 2019 to 72,172 in Q4 2020.

Net loss for the quarter was $155 million, an increase over the $126 million for Q4 2019. The Q4 2020 net loss includes $34 million of debt extinguishment costs associated with the refinancing of senior unsecured notes in Q4.

Basic and diluted net loss per Class A share increased from 82 cents in Q4 2019 to 87 cents in Q4 2020.

The Q4 revenue gain surpassed analyst expectations by $220 million, according to Seeking Alpha, while the 87 cents GAAP earnings per share missed expectations by 41 cents.

Shares on Saturday traded at $283.60 against a 52-week range of $22.16-$314.56.

For the full year, revenue rose 42% from $3.9 billion in 2019 to $5.58 billion in 2020. The number of used vehicles sold rose 37% from 177,549 in Q4 2019 to 244,111 in Q4 2020 while the number of vehicles purchased directly from customers increased 95%.

Net loss for the full year 2020 was $462 million, an increase from $364 million the prior year.

Basic and diluted net loss per Class A share was $2.63 for 2020.

The number of car vending machines increased by four in 2020 for a total of 27.

"2020 highlighted the strengths of our business model and validated our vision for the future of car buying," Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO, said in the release. "We're extremely proud of how our team navigated an unprecedented year of constant adaptation. Their exceptional execution and relentless focus on delivering the best experiences to our customers vaulted us to becoming the second largest seller of used cars in the country, another meaningful milestone in our march to becoming the largest and most profitable automotive retailer."