CarMax CEO out after nearly a decade

Amid forecasts of dismal third quarter earnings, Bill Nash is out as president and CEO at national used-vehicle retailer CarMax, even as its chief rival, Carvana, marked record quarterly results.

Nash, who had led the Goochland County-based Fortune 500 company for close to a decade, is also stepping down from the company’s board.

CarMax board member David McCreight, who previously served as CEO of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings, an online retail platform for women’s apparel and accessories, has been named interim president and CEO.

Former CarMax CEO Tom Folliard, the current chair of the CarMax board, has been named interim executive chair of the board. He served as the company’s CEO from 2006 to 2016.

The leadership changes are effective Dec. 1, according to the company.

Thursday, in its third quarter forecast, CarMax said it expected comparable store used-unit sales to fall 8% to 12% and predicted earnings of 18 cents to 36 cents a share. Analysts had expected third-quarter earnings of 70 cents a share.

As of 3:25 p.m. Thursday, CarMax shares were trading for $30.80, down from $36.08 at open and from $40.81 at the previous close.

CarMax’s recent financial results do not reflect the company’s potential and “change is needed,” according to Folliard.

“The board has decided that more direct involvement from David and me will help strengthen the business in this transitional period,” Folliard stated in a news release.  “During this time, we are focused on driving sales, enhancing profitability and reducing cost.”

CarMax attributed the third quarter results to a decline in retail unit sales, depreciation in the wholesale business and marketing costs.

On Oct. 29, CarMax competitor Carvana, an Arizona-based e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, announced record third-quarter results. The company sold 155,941 retail units, a 44% increase year over year. Carvana’s revenue for the quarter was $5.6 billion, a 55% increase year over year.

In late October, CarMax laid off about 350 employees nationally, including 55 in Virginia. Of the 55 affected employees in Virginia, 25 are in the Richmond area, CarMax said in an email last month.

Last year, CarMax laid off approximately 415 employees nationwide, including 14 in the Richmond region, and approximately 400 drivers, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch

As of this past summer, CarMax had about 30,000 employees, including 3,300 in Virginia. The company has more than 250 stores in 41 states.

Founded in 1993 as a subsidiary of electronics retailer Circuit City, CarMax reported more than $26 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.

For the second quarter of its fiscal 2026 year, CarMax reported total revenues of $6.59 billion, down 6% from the second quarter of fiscal 2025. For the previous six months, though, CarMax had $14.14 billion in total revenues, down 0.1% from the first six months of fiscal 2025.

In the second quarter, CarMax’s combined retail and wholesale used vehicle sales numbered 338,031, down 4.1% year-over-year.

Nash began at CarMax in 1997 as an auction manager. A 1991 graduate of James Madison University, Nash started his career in payroll and accounting at Circuit City, the consumer electronics retailer that launched CarMax in 1993.

A search to identify a permanent CEO had already been launched by the board, according to a news release. Russell Reynolds Associates, a New York-based search firm, is assisting with the effort.

The complete third-quarter results are scheduled to be reported on Dec. 18.