Carvana has made the Fortune 500 for the second year in a row, following 2021’s debut on the list with a substantial upward leap in 2022’s ranking.
Last year, Carvana arrived on the Fortune 500 for the first time at a modest no. 483, marking one of the fastest debuts in Fortune 500 history at just eight years old, rubbing elbows with fellow tech giants Google and Amazon. Now, ranking at no. 290 on 2022’s list, Carvana’s 193-spot leap accounts for the third-largest jump on this year’s list. Being one of the youngest Fortune 500 honorees to date, followed by a steep upward trend in year two, Carvana’s Fortune trajectory proves that the company’s people, through their passion, determination and commitment to its customers, technology, and innovation, have powered Carvana to this significant milestone.
Carvana is dedicated to making sure people everywhere have straightforward, transparent access to vehicle ownership, setting out to create a better experience for car buyers by pioneering online car buying and virtual vehicle tours just over nine years ago. Supported by a community of thousands of team members, Carvana is changing the way people buy and sell cars, demonstrated by becoming the fastest organic growth company of any automotive retailer in U.S. history.
The momentum the company generated in 2021, meeting the demands of hundreds of thousands of customers last year, accounted for a significant growth in revenue, to the tune of 129% more than the year before, to $12.8 billion—one key component to earning this year’s ranking.
Landing at 290 on the Fortune 500 list is the bookend to a year chock full of milestones for Carvana. Ahead of this year’s ranking, Carvana became the fastest company to ever sell one million vehicles online since being founded. Within a matter of weeks, Carvana was then arriving at another major milestone in company history with the acquisition of its one millionth vehicle from customers. This reaffirmed that, while many shifted heavily towards e-commerce solutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Carvana’s offering was already tailor-made for the times, and people were ready for a better automotive experience on both ends—buying and selling—well before the pandemic caused a shift in consumer behavior.
What’s more—in that time, Carvana also amassed the largest selection of affordable vehicles across the U.S., giving customers a comprehensive shopping experience with thousands of vehicles on hand. Then, at the onset of 2022, Carvana announced the $2.2 billion acquisition of ADESA’s U.S. physical auction business from KAR Global (NYSE: KAR), consisting of 56 ADESA U.S. locations totaling approximately 6.5 million square feet of buildings on more than 4,000 acres. The acquisition is poised to enhance Carvana’s nationwide logistics network in ways that will allow the company to make generous strides towards future goals and larger market share opportunities within the vast used car market.
Now, as a stretch of milestones for Carvana is capped with a leap up the Fortune 500 ranking, the outlook for 2022 and beyond is bright, as the company remains committed to the mission of treating people better. “Our job is to make the most of every opportunity that shows up and try to adjust the best we can,” said Ernie Garcia, Carvana Founder and CEO, as this year’s Fortune ranking was published. With millions of cars already bought and sold, Carvana is even better positioned to continue shaping the future of automotive sales.
