Forensic Analysis · Retail / Consumer Discretionary · as of Nov 9, 2026

Carmax Inc (KMX)

A forensic read on Carmax Inc built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

D · Weak — demands caution

Forensic grade

Grey Zone

Financial health

1.6

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

4.1%

ROE

-1.8%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Carmax Inc earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 1.6, placing it in the Grey zone. 2 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.

What the filings flag

1.3%

FY2026

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 1.3% in the latest fiscal year and steady across FY2024–FY2026, inside a 1.0-point range. After-tax operating profit was $572M in FY2024 and $321M in FY2026. The capital base behind it went from $24.6B in FY2024 to $24.5B in FY2026 (0%), while the revenue it carried went from $26.5B to $25.9B. FY2026's operating profit carried a $141M goodwill write-off that alone took about 0.4 points off that year's return, so about 0.4 of the 1.0-point fall across FY2024–FY2026 is that charge landing in the latest year rather than the capital earning less. A non-cash write-down lowers the reported return in the year it lands.

$141M

FY2026

Goodwill impairments. Took $141M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2026 ($141M)) — about 57% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$25.88B

Revenue Growth YoY-1.8%

Revenue CAGR (2yr)-1.2%

Net Margin1.0%

Free Cash Flow$1.24B

Return on Equity4.1%

Debt / Equity3.07x

The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Carmax Inc's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

Generate the AI investment read →

No credit card · informational only, not investment advice · see the track record

← Browse all forensic stock analyses

Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.