Carvana shares fall 14% following short-seller accusations

Shares of Carvana plummeted 14.2% Wednesday following short-seller accusations that the online used retailer overstated earnings with the help of businesses controlled by CEO Ernie Garcia III’s family. 

Gotham City Research alleged Wednesday that the online used car retailer, which entered the S&P 500 last month, overstated its 2023-2024 earnings by more than $1 billion, and is “far more dependent on related parties” connected to the family than previously disclosed.

Broadly, the firm accuses Carvana’s earnings of being dependent on DriveTime’s debt issuance, “toxic” loans and accounting irregularities.

Carvana, in an emailed statement, called the report “inaccurate and intentionally misleading.” The company said all of its “related party transactions are accurately disclosed in our financial statements.”

Carvana also reconfirmed plans to release its 2025 earnings on Feb. 18, following Gotham claiming the company would need to delay its 10-K annual filing.

To assist its claims, Gotham published the 2024 audited financials of DriveTime Automotive Group, Inc. and Bridgecrest Acceptance Corp. Both companies are owned by Ernest Garcia II, Carvana’s largest shareholder and the father of the online retailer’s chief executive.

CNBC did not independently verify the authenticity of the financial results, which Gotham said it obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

The short-seller report is the latest in a string of short sellers targeting Carvana in recent years.

Notably, disbanded short seller Hindenburg Research last year disclosed a bet against Carvana, claiming the online used-car retailer’s turnaround was a “mirage” that was being propped up by unstable loans and accounting manipulation.

Shares of Carvana have been on an unprecedented ride for the company since a bankruptcy scare around late 2022. The stock’s price has jumped from less than $5 a share during that time to close Tuesday at more than $477 per share.

Carvana shares closed Wednesday at $410.04, down 14.2% — marking the company’s second-worst trading day in the past year.