Copart: A Wonderful Company At A Wonderful Price

David Desjardins2.65K FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(15min)Comments(4)SummaryAfter reaching an all-time high of $64.38 per share in November 2024, Copart is currently caught in a ~50% drawdown.This is one of the largest pullbacks since the company's initial public offering in March 1994 and of similar size to what happened following the 2008 global financial crisis.Over the long term, I expect total loss frequency to continue its inexorable rise and to eventually surpass 30%, an incredible change versus the 4% recorded in the early 1980s.Copart's balance sheet is bulletproof, with a net cash balance of $5.1 billion and $6.4 billion of available liquidity. This compares against capital expenditures of approximately $500 million per year.For the first time in years, Copart is now active on its share buyback program, with ~5.5 million shares acquired during Q2-26 at an average price of $39.82. I would expect the pace to increase in the upcoming quarters. Vasile Jechiu/iStock via Getty Images From Market Darling To The Garbage Bin Following my latest article about CoStar (CSGP), I now turn my attention to Copart (CPRT), another company often qualified as a 'compounding machine' in the investment community. Similar toThis article was written byDavid Desjardins2.65K FollowersFollowFor almost a decade, I held research analyst positions in various investment firms, mostly in Toronto. I started in sell-side research with a Canadian bank, then moved to a hedge fund, followed by a family office and then finished my career in wealth management. I was 20 on my first day on Bay Street. I will forever remember. I had worked so hard to get there, from a small French-speaking town in Québec. Getting my CFA and CAIA designations by 25 was another important milestone. I was a young man with a dream, wanting to make it big. However, life was about to teach me a painful lesson. Before conquering the world, a man must first conquer himself by going into the depths of his own abyss. Only then may he shed his naivety and become a man truly able to love.For the last four years, I have been living in a yurt in the boreal forest, approximately 100 kilometres away from the closest paved road or grocery store. In a forest full of birds, just beside a lake full of fish. For water, I go to the creek. For heat, there is plenty of white birch and quaking aspen around. If I need anything in town, I have plenty of money for my needs. I am now 30, in love, and as free as the birds in the skies, so what else can I ask for? In all humility, and in all gratitude, I say thank you to this grandiose symphony we call life.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CPRT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.