How Carvana went from a Wall Street top pick to meme stock trading

Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia III regularly tells Wall Street that “the march continues” in the company’s mission to become the largest and most profitable used car retailer in the world.

Its stock price has marched this year as well, just in the wrong direction for investors. Within six months, Carvana has gone from Wall Street’s preferred used car retailer poised to capitalize on a robust market to trading like a volatile meme stock amid cost-cutting measures and layoffs.

The fall from grace for the Arizona-based used car retailer, including a nearly 90% decline in its stock price since November, resulted from a mix of changing market conditions as…