CARG vs CRMT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
CarGurus is an asset-light online marketplace connecting car buyers and dealers with high-margin subscription and advertising revenue, while America's Car-Mart is a buy-here-pay-here dealer that directly sells vehicles and provides in-house subprime financing, carrying meaningful credit risk on its loan portfolio. The two represent very different business models within the broader used-car industry — digital marketplace versus vertically integrated dealer-lender.
Use this CARG vs CRMT comparison to evaluate two very different used-car business models. CarGurus offers asset-light, marketplace-driven exposure to used and new vehicle shopping trends; America's Car-Mart offers direct exposure to subprime auto lending economics layered on top of vehicle retail, with credit cycle risk as the key variable.
CARG holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CARG leads on both 1-year return (-13.53%) and forward P/E quality (9.54x vs -0.60x for CRMT), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. CARG leads on both revenue growth (13.10%) and operating margin (25.27%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CRMT (+455.56%) than for CARG (+43.06%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want asset-light exposure to online automotive marketplace traffic and dealer subscription revenue
- Prefer a business model without direct subprime lending credit risk
- Value the complementary CarOffer digital wholesale marketplace as an additional growth driver
- Are comfortable with revenue sensitivity to overall new and used vehicle sales cycles
- Want direct exposure to a vertically integrated vehicle sales and subprime financing business model
- Believe underserved credit-challenged customers represent a durable, differentiated market niche
- Are comfortable with credit risk and provision for loan losses as a core part of the investment thesis
- Prefer a smaller, more regionally focused business over a national digital marketplace
| Metric | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 31.5 | 23.2 |
| AI ranki | #2101 | #3622 |
| Latest closei | $30.30 | $1.35 |
| 1M returni | -13.43% | -19.64% |
| 3M returni | -15.88% | -67.78% |
| 6M returni | -16.32% | -88.55% |
| 1Y returni | -13.53% | -94.95% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.65K (-13.5%) started 2025-10-15 | $504.86 (-95.0%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $8.74K (-12.6%) started 2021-10-15 | $119.44 (-98.8%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $10.99K (+9.9%) started 2017-10-12 | $357.62 (-96.4%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $2.57B | $11.26M |
| Trailing P/Ei | 15.35 | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | 9.54 | -0.60 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 0.01 |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.72 | 0.61 |
| Analyst targeti | $41.27 | $7.50 |
| Target upsidei | +43.06% | +455.56% |
| Metric | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 13.10% | -57.60% |
| Earnings growthi | 141.00% | N/A |
| EPS growthi | +141.00% | N/A |
| FCF margini | +24.95% | +26.85% |
| Operating margini | 25.27% | -34.29% |
| Profit margini | 18.19% | -18.73% |
| ROIC proxyi | 53.47% | -42.95% |
| Return on equityi | 53.47% | -42.95% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 1.22 | 1.34 |
| Debt/equityi | 70.03 | 178.11 |
| Current ratioi | 1.85 | 17.31 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.51 | 14.90 |
Over the past year, CARG and CRMT have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.08), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -13.53% | -94.95% |
| CAGRi | -13.54% | -94.96% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.17% | 143.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.29 | -1.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.40 | -1.61 | |
| Max drawdowni | 30.92% | 96.53% | |
| Current drawdowni | 22.37% | 95.22% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.43% | 52.66% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.39% | 62.62% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.96% | 55.03% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 21.28% | 72.96% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -12.58% | -98.81% |
| CAGRi | -2.65% | -58.75% | |
| Volatilityi | 50.26% | 82.50% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.10 | -0.68 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.15 | -0.89 | |
| Max drawdowni | 75.38% | 99.23% | |
| Current drawdowni | 37.46% | 98.95% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 41.40% | 52.55% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 45.20% | 58.11% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.51% | 55.03% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 39.69% | 72.96% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +9.86% | -96.42% |
| CAGRi | +1.05% | -28.35% | |
| Volatilityi | 50.24% | 67.96% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.18 | -0.19 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.26 | -0.25 | |
| Max drawdowni | 78.66% | 99.44% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.81% | 99.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 43.88% | 39.73% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 47.41% | 49.72% | |
| Max daily dropi | 26.54% | 55.03% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 39.69% | 72.96% |
| Category | CARG | CRMT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | CarGurus, Inc. | America's Car-Mart, Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Automotive Retail |
| Industry | Internet Content & Information | Auto & Truck Dealerships |
| Core business | Online automotive marketplace connecting car buyers with dealers through vehicle listings, pricing transparency tools, and digital retail products, along with its CarOffer digital wholesale marketplace connecting dealers for vehicle transactions. | Buy-here-pay-here used vehicle dealer that sells vehicles and directly provides in-house financing to primarily subprime and credit-challenged customers, generating revenue from both vehicle sales and interest income on its loan portfolio. |
| Investor focus | Marketplace traffic and dealer subscription growth, digital wholesale (CarOffer) transaction volume, and margin trends as the company balances marketplace and digital retail investments. | Loan portfolio credit performance and default rates, same-store used vehicle sales growth, interest income trends, and provision for credit losses. |
- Leading online automotive marketplace with strong consumer traffic and brand recognition for car shopping
- Asset-light marketplace model generates high margins on dealer subscription and advertising revenue
- CarOffer digital wholesale marketplace adds a complementary dealer-to-dealer transaction revenue stream
- Vertically integrated model combining vehicle sales and in-house financing captures more of the transaction value chain
- Long-standing focus on underserved subprime credit customers provides differentiated market positioning
- Interest income from its loan portfolio provides a recurring revenue stream beyond one-time vehicle sales
- Dealer subscription revenue growth is sensitive to new and used vehicle sales cycles and dealer marketing budgets
- Competitive pressure from other online automotive marketplaces and manufacturer-direct digital retail efforts
- CarOffer wholesale marketplace volume can be more cyclical and margin-sensitive than core listings revenue
- Credit risk and default rates on its subprime loan portfolio are highly sensitive to economic conditions and used vehicle values
- Provision for credit losses can be volatile and directly impacts profitability
- Smaller scale and more regional footprint compared to larger national automotive retail and marketplace peers
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