Carvana Co. said Thursday it sold fewer used vehicles in the first quarter as a result of a continued pullback on growth initiatives and reduced inventory size, but it reported improved total per-vehicle profit and a slimmer net loss.
The online used-vehicle retailer reported a net loss of $286 million for the quarter ended March 31, smaller than the $506 million it lost in the first quarter of 2022. Revenue fell 25 percent to $2.6 billion. It also reported an adjusted loss of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $24 million, significantly smaller than its adjusted EBITDA loss of $348 million a year earlier.
"Given our strong start to the year, we expect to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2023," CEO Ernie Garcia said in a statement.
Wall Street liked the numbers. Carvana shares surged 24 percent to $8.95 when the market closed Friday.
Carvana sold 79,240 used vehicles, down 25 percent from 105,185 in the year-earlier period. That sales figure was slightly higher than a preliminary estimate the company gave in a March 22 regulatory filing.