CarMax Beats Q2 Estimates by Wide Margin as Used-Car Demand Surges and Buybacks Return

CarMax dominated Tuesday's market action after reporting second-quarter fiscal 2027 results that sharply exceeded Wall Street expectations. The used-car retailer posted adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share against a consensus estimate of $0.73, while revenue rose 19.5% year over year to $7.88 billion, well above the analyst forecast of roughly $7.03 billion. Management signaled a return to share buybacks in the current quarter, adding to investor enthusiasm, and the stock surged roughly 6 to 7 percent on the day.

The results lifted the broader auto-retail sector. Carvana climbed as much as 6.8 percent in sympathy, with analysts framing CarMax's quarter as evidence of company-specific execution rather than a broad industry tailwind, given that rivals Lithia Motors and AutoNation moved little or fell.

Elsewhere, uniQure shares slumped after the company disclosed that four-year follow-up data for its Huntington's disease gene therapy AMT-130 showed diminishing benefits compared with the three-year readout, a result that could complicate its pending Biologics License Application and bid for Priority Review at the FDA.

The day's individual stock moves played out against a weak broader tape. The Nasdaq recorded 249 new lows versus only 40 new highs, while decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 3.55-to-1 ratio, consistent with observations that stocks in downtrends continued to dominate market breadth.