CarMax 3Q Profit, Sales Beat Views

CarMax (NYSE:KMX) beat the Street on Tuesday with a 10% jump in third-quarter profits, but the results weren’t strong enough to prevent a 9% dive in shares of the No. 1 U.S. used car retailer.

Richmond, Va.-based CarMax said it earned $82.4 million, or 36 cents a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with a profit of $74.6 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts had called for EPS of 34 cents.

Revenue climbed 23% to $2.12 billion, surpassing the $1.97 billion the Street had been looking for. Same-store sales advanced 16%.

However, the bar had been set high for CarMax, which has seen its shares surge more than 50% over the past 13 weeks alone. CarMax’s stock dropped 8.16% to $32.96 on Tuesday, leaving it with a 2010 gain of 48%.

CarMax said total used car sales grew by 18% last quarter and wholesale unit sales advanced 26%.

“We are pleased to report another quarter of solid increases in sales,” CEO Tom Folliard said in a statement. “Comparable store used unit sales increased 16%, representing our strongest comps in several years.”