Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alluvium Global Fund Stuart Pearce, Alexis Delloye | “Once again, the most significant and interesting news for investors is a new position we initiated. On this occasion, it is Copart, the car wrecker turned auction platform (down 15.1% over the quarter). Copart has grown from a small single auto salvage yard in Vallejo, California in 1982 to a car auction technology platform selling over 4 million cars per year, predominantly on behalf of large insurance companies. We were alerted to this business by our quantitative screen - where it appeared a compelling opportunity (ten year sales growth of 17.4% and 19.1% profit growth, negligible debt, and mid 30's returns on invested capital), so we explored the business in greater depth. Our synopsis: It is a top notch business operating in a duopoly, but with little scope for domestic growth significant enough to move the needle. Most of Copart's revenue stems from its services to insurance companies for selling their vehicles which they classify to be 'total losses'. So, when it comes to analysing the long term viability of its business, we think there are two key considerations. There is the likely growth rate of automobile accidents. We expect this to gradually decline as a result of increased adoption of autonomous driving, which is known to have lower crash rates than human-driven vehicles. Then there is the proportion of future collisions that are likely to result in cars being classified as 'total losses'. We expect this will continue its long term upward trend (driven by increased technology and high repair costs). The balancing of these factors, to a large extent, represents the risk vs reward equation associated with investing in this business. Copart's share price compounded at over 22% per annum from its IPO (in March 1994) to its peak in mid May 2025. It has since fallen by more than 50%. We think this is largely due to the market's concerns regarding consumers opting out or downgrading their insurance, and the belief that this trend is likely to continue. Whilst we acknowledge this is a risk, we believe this to be more cyclical rather than structural in nature. And so the falling share price has provided us with a rare opportunity to invest in the type of high quality business that we look for at a discount to our valuation.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 29, 2026 | View Pitch |
Madison Large Cap Fund Joe Maginot, Haruki Toyama, Rich Eisinger | “Volume growth at Copart, which manages salvage vehicle auctions, continues to be weak due to more under-and-uninsured auto drivers and shifting market share amongst insurance carriers. While recent performance has been frustrating, Copart's earnings have grown at a healthy clip over the past few years, and its competitive position remains strong. The company also announced that Executive Chairman Jay Adair, who previously served as CEO for many years, will return to the role. We view this as a positive development. Jay was instrumental in building Copart over the past 30+ years, and his substantial ownership stake keeps him strongly aligned with shareholders.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 17, 2026 | View Pitch |
Madison Mid Cap Fund Haruki Toyama, Andy Romanowich, Rich Eisinger | “Volume growth at salvage auctioneer Copart (CPRT) continues to be weak due to more under-and-uninsured auto drivers and shifting market share amongst insurance carriers. While recent performance has been frustrating, Copart's earnings have grown at a healthy clip over the past few years, and its competitive position remains strong. The company also announced that Executive Chairman Jay Adair, who previously served as CEO for many years, will return to the role. We view this as a positive development. Jay was instrumental in building Copart over the past 30+ years, and his substantial ownership stake keeps him strongly aligned with shareholders. Copart (CPRT) is a long-term holding that is trading at valuation levels not seen in over a decade. While growth has slowed, we believe this is largely due to cyclical and short-term headwinds that will ultimately be resolved.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 17, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “At Copart, CEO Jeff Liaw stepped down on June 29, and the stock fell on the news. In a special call a week later, Jay Adair, a founding member and the company's CEO and then co-CEO from 2010 to 2024, ” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 11, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “Turning to Copart first, it is the leading global marketplace for damaged and end-of-life vehicles, sitting between insurance companies that need to dispose of total-loss cars and a fragmented, worldw” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 13, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “Turning to Copart first, it is the leading global marketplace for damaged and end-of-life vehicles, sitting between insurance companies that need to dispose of total-loss cars and a fragmented, worldwide base of dismantlers, rebuilders, dealers, and exporters. The business benefits from long-lived structural tailwinds: Americans are driving more, the vehicle fleet keeps aging, and rising repair complexity and costs mean more vehicles are totaled rather than repaired. Against that backdrop, the last four quarters have been stronger in the business than in the stock. Revenue and operating income have continued to grow, helped by steady fee-per-unit gains, higher international contribution, and ongoing expansion of yards and services, even as unit volumes have been softer. At the same time, a more competitive narrative has taken hold that competitor RB Global/IAA is poised to catch up in North American salvage. Public data still show Copart as the structurally stronger player, with a far deeper land footprint, buyer network, and technology platform. These concerns have weighed on sentiment, and the share price fell roughly 30% in 2025. My long-term optimism is unchanged. Copart still enjoys a wide moat built on land, network effects, and proprietary auction technology, supported by a fortress balance sheet and significant insider ownership. BSD Analysis: Copart's moat is scale in salvage auctions—network density, buyer liquidity, and yards that competitors can't replicate economically. The concentration risk is subtle: total-loss frequency and used-car dynamics drive volumes, and insurers are the gatekeepers. When claim severity rises, Copart can win on volume; when total-loss rates normalize, growth can slow. Pricing power comes from liquidity and speed, not from contracts. The model is asset-heavy in yards but asset-light in inventory risk, which is why margins are so durable. The bull case is continued penetration of online salvage and international expansion. The bear case is plateauing total-loss volumes and insurers squeezing fees. Copart is a tollbooth on chaos—great as long as accidents and economics keep routing through it.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 13, 2026 | View Pitch |
Aoris International Fund Matthew Berry | “Copart operates an auction platform, primarily to serve US auto insurers disposing of damaged vehicles that have been deemed too expensive to repair. Its share price declined 25% in 2025 until it was sold from the portfolio in July. The company has a single competitor of note: IAA Inc. After many years of losing share to Copart, IAA has in the last two years improved its operating performance and regained some market share. This caused us to question Copart's competitive strengths, as well as its long-term growth and earnings prospects. Our error here was not appreciating the risk to any business that has just one competitor. BSD Analysis: Copart has built one of the cleanest marketplace monopolies in the world by monetizing chaos. Rising repair costs push insurers to total vehicles more often, feeding Copart's supply pipeline. Its global auction platform scales with almost no incremental cost, driving absurd operating leverage. Physical yard infrastructure and buyer liquidity create barriers competitors can't replicate quickly. Bad macro events — floods, inflation, accidents — are perversely good for business. International expansion adds runway without changing economics. Margins stay elite because Copart controls both sides of the transaction. This is not cyclical exposure — it's structural inefficiency harvesting. Copart compounds because reality keeps breaking cars.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Qualivian Investment Partners Aamer Khan and Cyril Malak | “Copart was exited due to deteriorating competitive dynamics following the acquisition of its primary rival, IAA, by RB Global, which led to aggressive pricing and lost market share. Additionally, a spike in auto insurance costs has reduced volume within its core insurance vertical, decelerating top-line and earnings growth.” | BEAR | Q3 2025 Dec 1, 2025 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “CPRT, another long-term holding (~five years), is down ~25% from its recent high earlier this year—all of it following the company's announcement of FQ3 2025 results (the company's fiscal year-end is July 31). For context, we have endured even worse drawdowns in this stock in the past. CPRT remains the dominant player in the duopoly market of auto salvage. The company has diversified into other business lines, such as whole car (from dealers) and heavy equipment (Purple Wave). However, the majority of revenue sources are North America-based salvage vehicles, fed by insurance companies, where the company acts as the eBay of dinged and damaged vehicles. All the major drivers of the business continue to provide tailwinds for CPRT: • The average age of vehicles on the road is 14.5 years, an all-time high. • The % cost of electronic components in a vehicle is 40% in 2025, an increase from ~16% in 2000. The % cost is expected to be more than 50% of the total vehicle by 2030; this leads to higher repair costs. • The cost of labor to repair vehicles is $85 to $175 per hour, a steady increase over time due to labor shortages, vehicle complexity, and inflation. These forces are increasingly nudging insurance companies to total the damaged vehicles, then sell them to CPRT and its competitors for salvage value. The total loss ratio in the auto insurance sector is at an all-time high of 22.6%. It has increased from ~4.0% in 1980 and is expected to surpass 30% in the immediate future, indicating that more vehicles are expected to be turned over for salvage value. So, why is the stock down so much? Before I share my reasons, below is a look at the company's financial performance over time. The recent sales growth trajectory raises the question of whether a quondam fast-growth business is transitioning into a stable-growth stalwart. Another persistent question in the minds of investors is the threat of autonomous driving. In my mind, it's an issue that is widely discussed but remains largely theoretical and distant. CPRT is growing at its slowest pace in recent memory, due to the weakness in the used car market and the reluctance of consumers to buy vehicles at elevated prices, amid higher interest rates. The auto industry data shows that consumers are holding on to their cars longer, leading to reduced supply of used cars. With new car prices still elevated, this is likely to persist. This has caused the volume of salvage vehicles to decline, lowering the supply that feeds the company's auctions. Additionally, the company's international operations have experienced temporary slowdowns in certain markets, such as Germany and the UK. These slowdowns are more cyclical and relate to the insurance sector adjusting to new regulations and insurance industry reforms. In turn, this has impacted margins. I am more convinced than ever that this is temporary and that the company's intrinsic value and competitive advantage are intact. We often talk about the moats of an investment: the advantages it has over its competitors. CPRT's moat is the value of its auction platform: its technology, the level of participation in its auctions, and the size of its buyer base. These are all very hard to replicate. The company's strong balance sheet adds a layer of comfort; it has $4.3 billion in net cash. Historically, CPRT has reinvested nearly all of its free cash flow in acquiring land (it owns ~19,000 acres of land) and developing its technology. I remain confident in the management's ability to exhibit its opportunistic streak. BSD Analysis: Copart is the unassailable, high-margin oligopolist in salvage vehicle auctions, built on one of the most resilient marketplace models in the U.S. economy. The core moat is its massive, interconnected physical and digital infrastructure—its large footprint of geographically dispersed vehicle yards and its proprietary online auction system. This model is capital-efficient and scales with volume, earning revenue primarily from fees charged to both sellers (insurers) and buyers (dismantlers, exporters). Critically, the supply of salvage vehicles is non-discretionary, driven by accident frequency and total-loss rates, making the business resilient even during economic downturns. Copart is a high-quality compounder leveraging operational efficiency and network scale, which justifies its premium valuation.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jul 8, 2025 | View Pitch |
Conestoga Mid Cap Composite Conestoga Capital Advisors, LLC | “Copart, Inc. (CPRT) CPRT is a leading provider of salvage auctions in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Shares sold off sharply after missing fiscal 3Q revenue estimates. This is the second quarter in a row of softer than expected unit volume growth due, in large part, to some drivers electing to reduce insurance coverage which results in lower accident claims volume. We believe this headwind is temporary as insurance carriers have finally priced their way back to profitability which was pressured during the pandemic. BSD Analysis: Copart remains a structurally advantaged marketplace with dominant share, extensive yards, and significant network effects in salvage auctions. Short-term volume softness tied to insurance coverage mix should normalize as carriers and consumers settle into new pricing levels. The company generates high margins and returns on capital, with a strong balance sheet that enables continued yard expansion and technology investment. Longer term, rising complexity and value of vehicles support salvage economics and Copart's fee pool. The recent pullback offers an opportunity to own a high-quality compounder at a discount to its historical valuation.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jun 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
