What Investors Need to Know About Carvana's Third Quarter

In general, people despise the car-buying process -- there's a reason there are so many used-car salesman jokes. But that contempt has bred plenty of opportunities for innovative companies to try to transform the experience into something that's more comfortable and less miserable.

Among those innovators is Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA), which has caught the attention of investors thanks to a business model that puts much of the purchasing process online, in combination with a unique vending car-pickup option. Let's dig into its third-quarter results and see how the recently-IPOed car dealer is faring.

For a company such as Carvana in the very early innings of a long game, it's fair for investors to expect significant top-line growth, and the company delivered. Revenue soared 128% to a total of $225.4 million, driven by a 133% increase in retail units sold to 11,719. However, because the company is spending capital to expand its footprint, its loss widened by 81%, from $21.99 million, or $0.16 per share in Q3 2016, to $39.8 million, or $0.29 per share.

Source: Fool.com