How does Trendshare evaluate CPRT as a worked example?

This example shows how we apply the Trendshare checklist to CPRT: 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 32.15.

Copart Stock Price and Value Analysis

Copart (NasdaqGS:CPRT) in our automated value investing analysis, with the cash flow history and price comparison below.

Key Facts

Ticker: CPRT (NasdaqGS)
Current price: $32.15
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Industry: Auto & Truck Dealerships

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Hold-time calculator

Estimate how long you need to hold Copart 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

CPRT Free Cash Flow Trend

Free Cash Flow trendline for CPRT — Free Cash Flow trendline for Copart

CSV

Based on historical returns, we believe that Copart can grow its free cash at a rate of about 11%. That's positive!

Advantages	Disadvantages	Neutral
This company is making money at a great rate! This company has fluctuating growth.	This stock looks overpriced. This company is less known than others.	This company pays no dividend.

Inside the CPRT Numbers

	CPRT Price (Copart stock price per share)	$32.15
× 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	47% higher than other Consumer Cyclical 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	0% lower than other Auto & Truck Dealerships 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	0.79%
× 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	29%

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 41,354,468 shares shorted. With 848,759,540 shares available for purchase and an average trading volume over the past 10 trading days of 11,345,890, it would take at least 3.6 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 CPRT

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

See How Returns Compound →

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	900075	124.4
2010	900075	122.0
2011	900075	168.0
2012	900075	159.7
2013	900075	117.3
2014	900075	177.2
2015	900075	179.0
2016	900075	225.7
2017	900075	329.6
2018	900075	339.4
2019	900075	395.2
2020	900075	561.5
2021	900075	575.7
2022	900075	739.3
2023	900075	882.8
2024	900075	945.0
2025	900075	1278.9
2026	900075	1109.8

Download the yearly data as CSV.

Price Versus Our Estimated Value

At $32.15, Copart trades above our fair value estimate of $13.03.

Every one of the 18 fiscal years we have for Copart under its current filer shows positive free cash flow.

Comparing the first and last three years of data, average free cash flow rose sharply: $138.1 million at the start and $1111.2 million most recently.

Year-to-year variability in free cash flow is uneven, measured at 29%.

Before you act on any of this, read what a margin of safety means and check the company's own filings.

No dividend yield is recorded for Copart in our data.

Compared With Its Sector and Industry

Its trailing P/E ratio is 47% above the average for stocks in the Consumer Cyclical sector.

Its trailing P/E ratio is in line with the average for stocks in the Auto & Truck Dealerships 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 900075.

Each figure on this page comes from that filer.

Risks to This Analysis

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 CPRT

Does Copart 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: 32.15
- Market cap: $30B
- EPS: 1.55
Step 2 — Valuation checks
- P/E: 20.739
- FCF yield: 0.8%
- Date checked: Nov 12, 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.