Copart

Copart, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1982 (1982), in Vallejo, California, United States
FounderWillis J. Johnson
Headquarters
Dallas, Texas
,
U.S.
Number of locations
281 (2025)
Key people
Revenue US$4.65 billion (2025)
US$1.69 billion (2025)
US$1.55 billion (2025)
Total assets US$10.1 billion (2025)
Total equity US$9.19 billion (2025)
Number of employees
11,600 (2025)
Websitecopart.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Copart, Inc. is a multinational provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services to automotive resellers such as insurance, rental car, fleet, and finance companies. Copart operates in 11 countries: the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Brazil, Spain, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Finland. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Copart has more than 200 locations, where it houses more than 10,000 acres of vehicle inventory.

Copart sells used, wholesale and repairable vehicles in weekly and bi-weekly online auctions to buyers ranging from consumers to automotive businesses. Copart provides vehicle sellers with a range of services to process and sell repairable and clean title vehicles over the internet, using its patented virtual auction technology, named VB3, as well as others of its auction-related brands.

Copart is a public company traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CPRT and has been named to Fortune's 2020 Future 50 companies,[2] 100 Fastest-Growing Companies,[3] and the Fortune 500 list.[4]

History

Copart was founded in 1982 by Willis J. Johnson in Vallejo, California.[5]

Johnson, who was 34 when he started the company, began expanding Copart in the early 1990s through private loans and equity. By the early '90s, the company had grown to four locations in Northern California. By March 1994, it had added another eight facilities in Oregon, Washington, and Texas, culminating in the acquisition of the largest volume seller of salvage in the United States, North Texas Salvage Pool of Dallas, Texas.[6]

On March 17, 1994, Copart had its initial public offering (IPO) at $12 per share and debuted on the NASDAQ under the symbol "CPRT." Copart's IPO of 2.3 million shares of stock provided the company with the means to become a national company.[6]

In May 1995, Copart began expansion in the United States with the acquisition of NER Auction Group, doubling its number of facilities around the country. Copart continued to expand through acquisitions and opened six new locations from July 1995 to July 1996. With locations across the United States, Copart shifted tactics and began to procure regional and national contracts with the nation's leading insurance companies to grow a nationwide chain of facilities.[7] Copart continued to acquire businesses, including National Powersport Auctions (NPA) in 2017.

By 2003, the company grew to 100 locations across the country and became the first to launch a completely online auction model. Currently, Copart has more than 200 locations in 11 countries.[7]  A Canada yard opening marked the first international expansion in 2003.[8] By 2007, Copart grew its footprint overseas to the United Kingdom. In 2012, Copart began expanding to the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Bahrain, Oman, Spain, Ireland and Germany. Copart also expanded into Finland in 2018 with the acquisition of Autovahinkokeskus (AVK).[9] Additionally, the CashForCars.com brand launched in Canada in 2018, Germany in 2019 and the United Kingdom in 2020.

As Internet bidding grew in popularity, Copart developed its online auction platform, VB2, which it implemented in 2003. VB2 opened the sales process to registered buyers (Members) and sellers worldwide.[10][11] In fiscal year 2004 in North America and fiscal year 2008 in the U.K., Copart discontinued all live auctions and began remarketing vehicles exclusively through VB2.[12][13]

In 2012, Copart relocated its corporate headquarters from Fairfield, California, to Dallas, Texas. Copart's Dallas headquarters building, Copart Tower, consists of approximately 53,000 square feet (4,900 m2) of leased office space.[14][15]

In 2013, Copart upgraded its VB2 technology to a new version dubbed VB3. This version supported the latest browsers, eliminated the need for plugins and supported mobile interactivity.[8] Copart now sells more than four million vehicles each year through VB3 technology.[16][17]

Controversies

Gender discrimination lawsuit

In April 2025, Christine Arnold, who served as Copart’s global vice president of human resources for 17 years, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company in Dallas County district court. She alleged that the company terminated her employment in October 2022 after she raised concerns about gender pay disparities, the exclusion of female executives from equity compensation programs, and alleged misconduct by male leaders.[18]

According to the complaint, women were underrepresented in the company’s senior leadership at the time of her dismissal, with no women in the C-suite and two women serving on the eleven-member board of directors. Arnold lawsuit sought more than $1 million in damages under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act for lost wages, emotional distress, and reputational harm. A Copart spokesperson denied the allegations.[18] The company called her accusations "baseless."[19]

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff characterized the company as "a Mad Men-era boys’ club where male executives caught with prostitutes at company events are rewarded with multimillion-dollar stock options..."[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Copart, Inc. FY 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. September 26, 2025.
  2. ^ "Copart | 2020 Future 50". Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  3. ^ "Copart | 2021 Fastest-Growing Companies". Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  4. ^ "Copart | 2021 Fortune 500". Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Copart to Celebrate 25 Years of Success” ([1][permanent dead link]). Collision Repair Magazine. Posted July 17, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Grant, Tina, ed. (1998). International Dictionary of Company Histories. Copart Inc. 23. Detroit. St. James Press. pp. 147-149. ISBN 1-55862-364-7.
  7. ^ a b "History of Copart Inc". FundingUniverse. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  8. ^ a b “VB3: Copart’s Auction Technology” (Archived 2020-12-02 at the Wayback Machine). Copart.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "Copart Canada Moves to a New Facility in Calgary". markets.businessinsider.com. 2023-12-18. Archived from the original on 2024-12-21.
  10. ^ "The Sotheby's Of Scrap". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  11. ^ "Copart Annual Report, Form 10-K Filing Date October 14, 2004" (Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  12. ^ “Copart, Inc. 2007 Annual Report, Form 10-K Filing Date October 1, 2007” (Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  13. ^ "Copart, Inc. Company Profile" (Archived 2013-03-08 at the Wayback Machine). Hoovers.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "Copart Annual Report, Form 10-K Filing Date October 1, 2012". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  15. ^ "Auto reseller Copart to move HQ to Farmers Branch". Dallas Business Journal. 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  16. ^ "Copart Annual Report, Form 10-K Filing Date October 31, 2006" ( Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  17. ^ "About Copart" ( Archived 2013-01-28 at the Wayback Machine). Copart.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Dallas-Based Copart Auctions Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit". www.carpro.com. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  19. ^ CBS TEXAS (2025-06-19). Former Copart HR exec alleges discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Retrieved 2026-03-16 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Casady, Michelle (2025-04-15). "Copart's Former VP of HR Alleges Company Operates As 'A Mad Men-Era Boys' Club'". The Texas Lawbook. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  • Official website
  • "Former Copart HR exec alleges discrimination, harassment, and retaliation". CBS News via YouTube. June 19, 2025.
  • Business data for Copart, Inc.:
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