CarMax vs Lithia Motors
Lithia Motors reported revenue of $37.6 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.5 times CarMax's $25.9 billion in fiscal 2026. CarMax's revenue fell 1.8% in its latest year, and Lithia Motors' grew 4.0%. Free cash flow was $1.2 billion at CarMax and $6 million at Lithia Motors. Their fiscal years end in different months (February 28 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| CarMax | Lithia Motors | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, Feb 28, 2026 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $25.9B | $37.6B |
| Revenue growth | −1.8% | 4.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 6.4% | 23.4% |
| Gross margin | 10.8% | 15.2% |
| Operating margin | — | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 1.0% | 2.2% |
| Free cash flow | $1.2B | $6M |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.8% | 0.0% |
| Return on capital | 1.3% | 7.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 20.6x | 4.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $643M | $1.0B |
| Change in diluted share count | −5.4% | −6.3% |
| Last close | $52.62 | $286.84 |
| P/E at the last close | 24.8× | 9.5× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $1.3 million, sold $0 | sold $423,348 |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 9 | 3 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
CarMaxLithia Motors
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
CarMaxLithia Motors
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
CarMaxLithia Motors
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the CarMax and Lithia Motors pages.