Appian Corp vs CarMax, Inc — how do they compare? Appian Corp trades at $35.5 (market cap $2.54B), while CarMax, Inc trades at $58.6 (market cap $8.26B). The key difference: CarMax, Inc is far larger — about 3.3× Appian Corp's market cap, and CarMax, Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Appian Corp nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APPN | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $2.54B | $8.26B |
Sector | Technology | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $45.64 | $62.17 |
52-Week Low | $18.72 | $30.88 |
Enterprise Value | $2.67B | $26.77B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Appian (APPN) trades at $34.82, down 2.14% on the day despite strong technical momentum. The stock shows bullish moving average signals but overbought RSI readings. Fundamentally, the company delivered three consecutive earnings beats with Q2 2026 EPS of $0.13 beating expectations of $0.00308, while revenue grew 19% year-over-year to $203.3 million. Recent news highlights AI-powered underwriting partnerships and strong enterprise demand driving growth.
Appian presents a mixed investment case with strong revenue growth and AI momentum offset by negative profitability metrics and elevated valuations. The stock trades above analyst consensus target of $32.50, suggesting limited near-term upside. Key risks include persistent negative ROE (-936.62%) and high debt levels, though improving cash flow and AI adoption provide growth catalysts.
CarMax (KMX) trades at $58.705, down 0.13% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed quarterly earnings, missing in Q2 2025 but beating in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, with net income of $500.56M in 2025. Recent news includes a Zacks Strong Buy rating and a partnership with Sierra to enhance customer service, though ongoing legal investigations pose a headwind.
The stock's outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by improving cash flow trends and analyst buy ratings, but risks include high debt levels and margin pressures. With a consensus price target of $53.09 below the current price, near-term upside may be limited despite positive momentum indicators.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Appian Corp provides a low-code software development platform as a service that enables organizations to rapidly develop powerful and unique applications. With its platform, organizations can rapidly and easily design, build and implement powerful, enterprise-grade custom applications through intuitive, visual interface with little or no coding required. The company's customers use applications built on its low-code platform to launch new business lines, automate vital employee workflows, manage complex trading platforms, accelerate drug development and build procurement systems. The group generates a majority of its revenue from the domestic market. It serves various industries such as education.
Read more on APPN →CarMax sells, finances, and services used and new cars through a chain of over 230 used retail stores. It was formed in 1993 as a unit of Circuit City and spun off into an independent company in late 2002. Used-vehicle sales typically account for about 83% of revenue and wholesale about 13%, with the remaining portion composed of extended service plans and repair. In fiscal 2022, the company retailed and wholesaled 924,338 and 706,212 used vehicles, respectively. CarMax is the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S. but still estimates that it has only about 4% U.S. market share of vehicles 0-10 years old in 2021. It seeks over 5% share by the end of calendar 2025 and revenue between $33 billion to $45 billion by fiscal 2026. CarMax is based in Richmond, Virginia.
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