How does Trendshare evaluate CACC as a worked example?

This example shows how we apply the Trendshare checklist to CACC: earnings power, cash generation, valuation, and margin of safety. We look at business quality, free cash flow trends, price to earnings, and whether there is a reasonable margin of safety at the current price of 587.85.

Credit Acceptance Corporation Stock Price and Value Analysis

Credit Acceptance Corporation (NasdaqGS:CACC) in our automated value investing analysis, with the cash flow history and price comparison below.

Key Facts

Ticker: CACC (NasdaqGS)
Current price: $587.85
Sector: Financial Services
Industry: Credit Services

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Hold-time calculator

Estimate how long you need to hold Credit Acceptance Corporation to reach your target.

Target type Target price Target total return %

Current price

Expected annual return (compound annual growth rate, CAGR)

Margin of safety (%)

Target price (Trendshare FV)

Include dividend yield
N/A

CACC Free Cash Flow Trend

Free Cash Flow trendline for CACC — Free Cash Flow trendline for Credit Acceptance Corporation

CSV

Based on historical returns, we believe that Credit Acceptance Corporation can grow its free cash at a rate of about 9%. That's positive!

Advantages	Disadvantages	Neutral
This stock is available at a great discount! This company is solid. This company is making money at a decent rate. This company has stable growth.	None.	This company pays no dividend.

Inside the CACC Numbers

	CACC Price (Credit Acceptance Corporation stock price per share)	$587.85
× PE Ratio Versus Sector The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its industry gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Industries are more specific than sectors, so companies within most industries are more similar than are companies within an industry. Be aware that the size and customers of companies are important to their prospects. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Sector	10% higher than other Financial Services stocks
× PE Ratio Versus Industry The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its sector gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Be aware that sectors are very broad, with many types of companies in the same sector. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Industry	19% lower than other Credit Services stocks
× Cash Yield The cash yield of a stock is the ratio of free cash per share—real dollars available after bringing in revenue and paying bills—to the current price of the stock. It's similar to the PE ratio, but it's less prone to manipulation through accounting practices. In general, the less you have to pay to make more money, the better. Close ^[?]	Cash Yield	6.51%
× Free Cash Flow Jitter The free cash flow jitter of a stock measures how much the company's free cash flow varies from its historical trend, on average. While it's always nice to make more money than you expected, a company with predictable free cash flow is stable and good. A company with wild swings in its free cash flow warrants further research. In general, the lower this number, the better. Close ^[?]	Free Cash Flow Jitter	15%

Insider Activity Summary

No open-market insider buys or sells are recorded for the last 12 months.

This stock has short interest! This means that people have shorted it.

Why does that matter? They've made a bet that price will decrease from where they bought it. Maybe there are financial problems, or maybe there's a value play.

As of the latest analysis, there are 1,209,368 shares shorted. With 5,888,915 shares available for purchase and an average trading volume over the past 10 trading days of 140,120, it would take at least 8.6 days for all of the short holders to cover their shorts.

Estimate Intrinsic Value (DCF)

Project future free cash flow and discount it back to today to compare market price vs intrinsic value. See how compound returns work over time.

📊 Intrinsic Value Calculator (DCF Method)

Calculate the present value of future cash flows to determine stock intrinsic value.

Annual Free Cash Flow ($):

Current or most recent year free cash flow (operating cash - capex)

Expected Annual Growth Rate (%):

Conservative estimate (3-7% for mature companies, 10-20% for growth)

Discount Rate (%):

Required rate of return (8-10% stable, 12-15% growth, 15%+ speculative)

Projection Period (Years):

Longer projections are less certain but may reveal more value

Terminal Value Multiple:

Exit multiple for terminal value (10-15x typical for mature companies)

Calculation Results

Total Intrinsic Value:

Discounted Cash Flows:

Terminal Value (PV):

Year	Future CF	Present Value

How to use this result: Compare the intrinsic value to the current stock price. If intrinsic value is significantly higher than market price (30-50% margin of safety), the stock may be undervalued. Remember, these are estimates based on your assumptions.

Learn to Evaluate CACC

Learn how to evaluate stocks, understand expected returns, and build a value investing strategy.

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Free Cash Flow by Fiscal Year

Each year names the SEC filer that reported it, so a change of filer shows up here.

Fiscal year	SEC filer (CIK)	Free cash flow (USD millions)
2009	885550	157.4
2010	885550	197.5
2011	885550	271.5
2012	885550	303.2
2013	885550	320.3
2014	885550	359.5
2015	885550	398.4
2016	885550	501.6
2017	885550	560.4
2018	885550	694.4
2019	885550	798.3
2020	885550	970.3
2021	885550	1054.1
2022	885550	1224.5
2023	885550	1193.8
2024	885550	1132.9
2025	885550	1051.0

Download the yearly data as CSV.

Price Versus Our Estimated Value

Free cash flow was positive in all 17 fiscal years we have for Credit Acceptance Corporation under its current SEC filer.

The latest three years average $1125.9 million in free cash flow against $208.8 million for the earliest three, which is a sharp rise.

Year-to-year variability in free cash flow is fairly steady, measured at 15%.

Credit Acceptance Corporation is priced at $587.85, under its safe value estimate of $624.96 (fair value: $961.48).

No dividend yield is recorded for Credit Acceptance Corporation in our data.

These figures are automated calculations from SEC filings and the recent price. They are not a recommendation to buy or sell. See how we estimate value.

Compared With Its Sector and Industry

Its trailing P/E ratio is 10% above the average for stocks in the Financial Services sector.

Its trailing P/E ratio is 19% below the average for stocks in the Credit Services industry.

A P/E ratio depends on trailing earnings, which one-time items can distort, so a lower P/E is not by itself evidence of value.

SEC Filer History

Every fiscal year on this page is reported by one SEC filer, CIK 885550.

Each figure on this page comes from that filer.

Risks to This Analysis

This page's data was last updated on 2026-08-04. Prices and filings may have changed since.
These figures are automated calculations from SEC filings and the recent price. They may contain errors, and they do not reflect lawsuits, management changes, or other events the filings do not show.

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Questions to Answer Before You Invest in CACC

Does Credit Acceptance Corporation have a coherent story? Does it have a plan to continue to make money? Is it worth your time? Only you can decide where to go from here. Our investment guide helps you ask the right questions, including how to buy stocks. Use these research links for more information.

Step 1 — Snapshot
- Price: 587.85
- Market cap: $6.1B
- EPS: 40.11
Step 2 — Valuation checks
- P/E: 14.656
- FCF yield: 6.5%
- Date checked: Aug 4, 2026
Step 3 — Margin of safety
- Compare price to fair value and safety price.
- Look for durable cash generation and reasonable leverage.
- Decide if it passes your personal checklist.