PHOENIX — Carvana Inc. has reached a number of “spectacular milestones” this year, CEO Ernest Garcia III said in a statement that accompanied the used-car retailer’s first-quarter results, which included triple-digit increases in net revenue and consumer-sourced wholesale units and the expansion of operations into 24 new U.S. markets.
“The first quarter marked several spectacular milestones for Carvana,” Garcia wrote Wednesday. “We delivered another quarter of triple-digit revenue growth, entered our 100th market, and successfully completed our first securitization all while continuing to deliver exceptional customer experiences.”
Carvana sold 36,766 units in Q1, nearly doubling production from the same period a year ago. The company broke into the top 10 list of used-vehicle retailers for the first time in 2018, selling 94,108 units, another triple-digit improvement.
The share of Carvana’s sales represented by consumer-sourced inventory grew 133% to 14%, buoyed by a 186% increase in such acquisitions, which totaled 6,701 for the quarter. The online retailer also grew its retail gross profit per unit (up 42%) and total gross profit per unit (30%).
The company’s aggressive growth strategy includes new high-rise vending machines in Pittsburgh and Chicago and reconditioning centers in Cleveland and Nashville. Executives said they plan to add up to 60 more locations by year’s end, a projected total of 169 nationwide.
Despite those gains, Carvana remains unprofitable. Net revenue increased by 110% to $755.2 million in Q1, but net losses grew 57% to $82.6 million.
Despite that, “2019 is off to a great start,” Garcia told investors. “We are energized and remain focused on our goal of selling more than 2 million cars per year.”
