New York, May 27, 2026, 08:15 EDT
America’s Car-Mart stock opened at $11.77 Wednesday morning, after closing at $11.73 on Tuesday, off 1.8%. That keeps the used-car retailer near its 52-week low. Shares listed on the Nasdaq hit $62.87 at their highest this year.
Why it’s in focus: CRMT is less about used cars now and more about its funding pipeline. The company is working to get back financing capacity with a warehouse credit facility, a revolving loan line backed by customer auto loans, after capital limits hit vehicle sales.
Nasdaq traders prepared for a normal open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, following a two-day break after Memorial Day on May 25, which was the last U.S. exchange holiday.
Car-Mart runs over 90 dealerships across 12 states, targeting the “buy here/pay here” used-car market where dealers handle both sales and in-house financing. The company reports serving more than 100,000 active customer accounts. Car-Mart
Car-Mart’s most recent quarter underscored pressure on the business. Sales volumes were down 22.1% for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Total revenue fell 12% to $286.8 million. The loss per share was $9.25, with an adjusted loss of $1.53. Chief Executive Doug Campbell called the volume decline “not a reflection of demand.” Car-Mart
Car-Mart took further action in April, when it filed that its board had signed off on shutting 42 of its 136 dealerships and reducing support staff. After the cut, Car-Mart planned to keep 94 dealerships running in 12 states. The company estimated roughly $14 million in non-cash impairment charges related to this plan.
Campbell described the problem as a “near-term liquidity challenge” in an April letter to shareholders, associates and customers. The stores shutting down made up around 31% of the store base but served just 18% of customers, he said. Management is working to preserve liquidity by cutting inventory and tightening underwriting.
Jefferies analyst John Hecht lowered his target on America’s Car-Mart to $14 from $29 back in March, keeping a Hold, a report on Yahoo Finance said. Analyst caution has hung over the stock.
Auto retail didn’t see broad selling. Carvana added $1.86, CarMax edged up 32 cents, and AutoNation rose $1.80. The numbers point to Car-Mart lagging because of its own financing and subprime-credit risk, not just weakness across used-car stocks.
Small-cap sentiment was steadier too, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF climbing $5.32 in recent trade. CRMT is still behind a benchmark investors use to track smaller U.S. stocks.
The picture is mixed. A new warehouse facility or a securitization deal on decent terms might restore lending capacity, but funding trouble, softer collections, expensive used cars or customer budget strain could weigh on sales and credit losses. Car-Mart has warned about these capital, affordability and underwriting concerns in its filings.
