CarMax, Inc vs Morgan Stanley — how do they compare? CarMax, Inc trades at $52.79 (market cap $7.64B), while Morgan Stanley trades at $190.26 (market cap $294.39B). The key difference: Morgan Stanley is far larger — about 38.5× CarMax, Inc's market cap, and Morgan Stanley pays a 2.45% dividend while CarMax, Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold CarMax, Inc for 49 Days and Morgan Stanley for 92 Days on average.
| KMX | MS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $7.64B | $294.39B |
Volume | 3,610,116 | 5,836,423 |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Financials |
52-Week High | $64.22 | $228.42 |
52-Week Low | $30.88 | $151.86 |
Typical Hold Time | 49 Days | 92 Days |
Enterprise Value | $25.34B | $660.04B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.45% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
CarMax (KMX) trades at $52.82, down 0.86% today, with a bearish technical signal despite recent earnings beats. The company reported strong Q2 2026 results with EPS of $1.16 beating estimates by 58%, driven by 19.5% revenue growth to $7.9 billion. Valuation metrics show a P/E of 25.37 and P/S of 0.28, while profitability remains modest with 1.06% net margin. Recent news highlights the company's 'Shift into GEAR' turnaround strategy showing early success.
KMX presents a mixed outlook with improving operational performance offset by high debt levels and competitive pressures. The consensus price target of $58.89 suggests 11% upside potential, but analysts remain cautious with 62% hold ratings. Key risks include cyclical auto market exposure and interest rate sensitivity, while catalysts include continued execution of the turnaround strategy and potential share buybacks.
Morgan Stanley (MS) trades at $189.71, down 0.66% with bearish technical signals despite strong fundamentals. The company has delivered three consecutive earnings beats with Q2 2026 EPS of $3.46 beating expectations by $0.57. Revenue growth accelerated to $66.0 billion in 2025 with net income margin expanding to 27.59%. Analyst consensus remains bullish with 55.77% buy ratings and a $229.25 price target representing 21% upside potential.
The investment case balances strong profitability and growth opportunities in wealth management and AI financing against concerning cash flow trends and technical weakness. While valuation appears reasonable at 15.14 P/E, investors face risks from volatile operating cash flows and rising debt levels. The stock offers attractive upside to analyst targets but requires monitoring of capital markets recovery timing.
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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.
Read more on KMX →Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments. The company had about $5 trillion of client assets as well as over 70,000 employees at the end of 2021. Approximately 50% of the company's net revenue is from its institutional securities business, with the remainder coming from wealth and investment management. The company derives about 30% of its total revenue outside the Americas.
Read more on MS →