CarMax raises $600 million from used vehicle contracts

What's the deal? CarMaxDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $600 million through its latest series of CarMax Select Receivables notes, backed by used vehicle contracts. The securitisation offers 8.42% in excess spread, down from 9.85% on the previous CMXS 2026-A series, according to S&P.

Why now? The used vehicle lending market remains active, with competitors like Carvana recently raising $1.1 billion through its own auto asset-backed securities. CarMax, the largest used car retailer in the US, continues to tap securitisation markets to fund its lending operations.

What could go wrong? The reduced excess spread — from 9.85% to 8.42% — suggests tighter margins for investors, though total initial hard credit enhancement increased across tranches, providing a structural offset. A slowdown in the used car market or rising consumer defaults could pressure future deals.

The signal: CarMax's ability to tighten excess spread from 9.85% to 8.42% while still placing a $600 million deal points to robust investor demand for used auto credit — even as 30-year bond yields hit nearly two-decade highs. With competitors like Carvana simultaneously raising $1.1 billion and infrastructure CLOs gaining ground, the broader securitisation market is absorbing record issuance across asset classes, suggesting capital markets remain open for well-established issuers despite macro volatility.

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