Episode Details
Title | Cliff Sosin - Investing in Carvana - [Invest Like the Best, EP.421] |
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Date | 4/29/2025 |
Podcast | Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy β |
Key Insights
Bullish:
- π’ $CVNA - Carvana is viewed as a highly resilient and innovative company with superior margins, pricing advantages, and growth potential compared to traditional auto dealers. The company's leadership is highly regarded, and its business model is seen as disruptive in the used car market.
- βCarvana is an online retailer of, used cars. It was founded in in 2013, you know, the by Ernie Garcia, who you've had on. And if you were to broadly describe the company's history from 2013 to 2021, it was up into the right. The business grew every year. Its margins improved every year.β - Cliff (43:10)
- βAs of now, the company's margins, EBITDA margins, and they have very little stock based comp and relatively low CapEx, are 10 and a half, you know, percentage and and rising. And they'll probably get to the thirteen, fourteen ish percent range, based on what they've said. And there's nothing no reason to doubt it. And the average car dealership's about four and a half. So they make of the order of two and a half, three x the margins of their competitors.β - Cliff (46:39)
- βWe believe that they sell cars, of the order of sort of $5,600 cheaper doing that. Now in fairness, they charge a bit more on financing, but, they still it's still cheaper overall. And they offer, obviously, a far superior experience, far superior selection, and they're growing.β - Cliff (47:39)
- βI think someday people will compare Jeff Bezos to Ernie Garcia, not the other way around. He's extraordinary.β - Cliff (1:02:34)
- βThis is an incredibly stout business. People do not appreciate how stout this business is. And in retrospect, I was right. Right? Like, the world threw, like, three, like, once in a generation curveballs at these guys at the same time while they were having all kinds of internal problems that won't don't happen that often. And they added dead and, like, you know, whatever at the same time, and they did it. Like, they got through it.β - Cliff (1:47:45)
- π’ $AITOOLS - π
Bearish:
- π» $AUTODEALERS - π
- π» $UNPROFITABLE - π