Copart reported fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results on September 10 for the periods ended July 31. The headline is mixed: fourth-quarter revenue increased, while gross profit, operating income and net income attributable to Copart, Inc. declined from the year-ago quarter. The annual cash-flow statement adds a separate capital-allocation perspective, but it should not be read as a fourth-quarter cash-flow statement.
Quarterly results: revenue growth did not carry through to profit
For the three months ended July 31, Copart reported total service revenues and vehicle sales of $1.152 billion, up $27.3 million, or 2.4%, from $1.125 billion a year earlier. Service revenue was $969.5 million, up 1.4%, while vehicle sales were $182.9 million, up 8.3%.
Gross profit was $481.4 million, down $28.3 million, or 5.5%. Operating income was $368.9 million, down 10.6%. Net income attributable to Copart, Inc. was $327.4 million, down $68.9 million, or 17.4%, and diluted earnings per share was $0.35 versus $0.41, a 14.6% decline.
The release also reports consolidated net income of $326.8 million. The attributable figure is higher by $0.6 million because the statement subtracts a net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest. These are related but distinct lines: the $327.4 million figure is the amount attributable to Copart, Inc.'s shareholders, while $326.8 million is consolidated net income.
Using the reported figures, fourth-quarter gross margin was approximately 41.8% ($481.4 million divided by $1.152 billion), compared with approximately 45.3% a year earlier. That is a calculation from the release, not a separately reported non-GAAP margin. The lower margin helps explain why revenue growth and profit moved in different directions, but the release alone does not establish a single cause for the change.
Full-year results answer a different question
For the year ended July 31, Copart reported revenue of $4.666 billion, up 0.4%, and gross profit of $2.084 billion, down 0.8%. Operating income was $1.653 billion, down 2.6%. Net income attributable to Copart, Inc. was $1.484 billion, down 4.4%, and diluted EPS was $1.55 versus $1.59, down 2.5%.
The annual income statement is useful for measuring the fiscal-year result, but it should not be substituted for the quarter. For example, the quarterly attributable net-income decline was 17.4%, while the annual decline was 4.4%. The two percentages describe different periods and should remain separate in any options-event review.
The segment table supplies some mix context. In the quarter, total revenue from the United States was $930.3 million versus $926.3 million, while international revenue was $222.1 million versus $198.8 million. International revenue therefore grew faster in the displayed comparison, but segment revenue does not by itself show how changes in costs, currency, volume or mix affected consolidated profit.
Annual cash flow and repurchases
Copart’s consolidated cash-flow statement covers the year ended July 31. It reports $1.604 billion of net cash provided by operating activities, compared with $1.800 billion in fiscal 2025. Capital expenditures were $337.4 million, down from $569.0 million. Investing activities used $877.6 million, and financing activities used $1.607 billion.
The financing outflow includes $1.633 billion of common-stock repurchases. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash ended the year at $1.908 billion, down $872.6 million from the beginning of the year. These are annual cash-flow and balance-sheet observations. They do not quantify cash generated during the fourth quarter alone, and the buyback total should not be described as a quarterly repurchase amount.
The income statement also shows lower diluted weighted-average shares: 932.1 million in the quarter versus 977.8 million a year earlier, and 956.9 million for the year versus 977.6 million. Even with that lower share-count denominator, diluted EPS declined because attributable net income declined. Weighted-average shares are an accounting-period measure, not a direct statement of the number of shares held at a particular moment.
The ACV agreement adds a separate event
In a separate September 10 release, Copart and ACV announced a definitive agreement for $10.50 per ACV share in cash, implying approximately $1.9 billion of equity value. Copart intends to use cash on hand. The companies expect a calendar year-end 2026 closing, subject to a majority tender condition, antitrust clearance and other conditions. That expected timing is not a completed transaction.
The announcement says the tender offer has not yet commenced. Copart expects the acquisition to be neutral to EPS in the first full year of ownership and accretive in fiscal 2028 and beyond. Those are forward-looking expectations, separate from the historical earnings figures above.
For options readers, this adds approval, timing and integration uncertainty after the earnings release. An agreed cash price for ACV shares does not itself establish a current OCC adjustment, listed-option cash deliverable or accelerated expiration. The merger filing’s treatment of employee equity awards should not be substituted for exchange-traded option specifications. The July 31 cash-flow statement likewise predates the transaction announcement and does not record payment of the acquisition price.
Why It Matters For Options Traders
An earnings release resolves information about a completed reporting period while leaving uncertainty about how investors will assess margins, international growth, operating costs, capital allocation and the next reporting period. That makes the distinction between the historical numbers and any later market reaction central to CPRT options analysis.
The internal guide to how earnings affect options prices and implied volatility explains why an earnings event can change the volatility component of an option’s value. The Options Industry Council’s FAQ describes the six broad pricing inputs as strike price, stock price, time to expiration, interest rates, dividends and implied volatility. It also explains that implied volatility can rise into an earnings event and fall after the event, even when the underlying moves in the anticipated direction.
This article does not report a current CPRT share price, option quote, implied-volatility level, expected move, open-interest signal or post-release price reaction. No particular direction follows from the revenue and profit figures. Comparing a later move with an implied range would require timestamped pre-release option observations, a defined expiration and an executable price reference. A quoted midpoint is not proof of a fill, and nearby expirations can have different liquidity, spread, assignment and exercise risks. The options expiration, assignment, and exercise guide covers those contract mechanics.
Common misunderstandings and caveats
Revenue growth of 2.4% does not mean profit grew. Consolidated net income of $326.8 million is not the same as net income attributable to Copart, Inc. of $327.4 million. The $1.604 billion operating-cash-flow figure is for the full fiscal year, not the fourth quarter. And the $1.633 billion repurchase amount is an annual financing cash outflow, not evidence of a fourth-quarter buyback.
The release supplies reported results and historical comparisons. It does not establish an analyst-consensus beat or miss, a valuation, or a probability for any stock or options outcome. Buyers can lose the entire premium, and option sellers can face substantial losses and assignment obligations.
This is not financial advice. Options trading involves risk and is not suitable for all investors.
Sources
Copart and ACV, definitive acquisition agreement announcement, SEC Exhibit 99.1, September 10, 2026:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/900075/000119312526388064/d138322dex991.htm
Copart, acquisition Form 8-K, September 10, 2026:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/900075/000119312526388064/d138322d8k.htm
Copart, Form 8-K, September 10, 2026 (primary document identified through SEC submissions):
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/900075/000119312526387902/cprt-20260910.htm
Copart, Exhibit 99.1, Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/900075/000119312526387902/cprt-ex99_1.htm
SEC company submissions for Copart, Inc. (CIK 0000900075):
https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0000900075.json
Options Industry Council, July Office Hours FAQs - Implied Volatility, Position Greeks and Market Maker Order Flow:
https://www.optionseducation.org/news/july-office-hours-faqs-implied-volatility-position-greeks-and-market-maker-order-flow
