Carvana Stock Holds Steady as Wall Street Remains Bullish Ahead of Earnings

Carvana's stock (NYSE:CVNA) trades 0.42% higher in the pre-market today, as the online used-car retailer prepares to report earnings results amid a chorus of analyst support. The stock has experienced a turbulent start to 2026, declining 12% year-to-date, yet analysts appear to be standing firmly behind the company's long-term prospects as it navigates both competitive pressures and lingering concerns from a recent short-seller attack.

The stock remains well below its January peak of $486.89, a level reached shortly after Carvana's inclusion in the S&P 500 index in December 2025, a milestone that marked the company's arrival as a major player in the automotive retail sector. Over the past 12 months, CVNA continues to trade 23.3% higher ahead of earnings.

JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta has emerged as a particularly vocal supporter, directly addressing investor concerns about artificial intelligence potentially disrupting Carvana's business model.

In a research note to clients, Gupta characterized fears of AI disintermediation as overblown, pointing to the company's vertically integrated infrastructure as a key competitive moat that remains difficult to replicate. The analyst highlighted that while AI agents may aggregate market offerings across the broader used-car landscape, Carvana's ownership of large-scale inventory and its integrated e-commerce platform ensure transactions remain within its ecosystem.

The firm's proprietary acquisition strategies and dynamic pricing mechanisms, powered by clickstream data and market signals, further entrench its competitive position. JPMorgan maintains an Overweight rating with a $510 price target, implying roughly 45% upside from current levels.

The renewed analyst support comes as Carvana continues to recover from allegations leveled by short-seller Gotham City Research in late January. The firm's report claimed the company overstated earnings by more than $1 billion through related-party transactions and suggested potential delays in the annual report filing along with possible auditor resignation.

Carvana swiftly rejected these claims as inaccurate and intentionally misleading, while analysts from JPMorgan, William Blair, and BTIG publicly challenged the short-seller's methodology and conclusions. The stock initially fell 14% on the report but subsequently rebounded 4.3% in after-hours trading as the analyst community rallied to the company's defense.

Markets will scrutinize today's earnings report for evidence that the company can sustain profitability while managing inventory levels and maintaining pricing discipline in a competitive environment.  EPS estimates on the quarter of $1.16 would reflect a doubling from that delivered this time last year ($0.58). Revenue is expected to have slowed marginally to $5.27billion on the period.