CPRT vs RBA: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CPRT and RBA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CPRT and RBA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Copart operates a leading global online marketplace for buying and selling used, wholesale, and salvage vehicles, primarily through internet auctions. Its biggest customers are insurance companies, which send Copart vehicles that have been declared total losses after accidents, floods, or other damage; Copart processes, stores, and remarkets those vehicles to a global base of dismantlers, rebuilders, used-car dealers, and individual buyers. The company runs a virtual auction platform (VB3) supported by a vast network of physical storage yards across North America and other countries. Copart makes money mainly through auction and service fees charged to both sellers and buyers, plus vehicle towing, storage, title processing, and related services. Its asset-heavy land holdings and dense yard network create high barriers to entry. Copart benefits from rising vehicle complexity (which raises total-loss frequency) and from a global buyer base. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Full CPRT guide

RB Global (NYSE and TSX: RBA) operates commercial marketplaces where sellers list assets and buyers bid, mostly online. The heritage business is Ritchie Bros., the unreserved industrial auctioneer for excavators, dozers, cranes, trucks and trailers, joined by IronPlanet, Marketplace-E, Rouse, SmartEquip and Ritchie List. The other half arrived with the roughly $7.3 billion acquisition of IAA in March 2023, which added the salvage vehicle auction network that insurers use to dispose of total-loss cars. In March 2026 the company agreed to buy BigIron, an agriculture-focused online marketplace handling roughly $885 million of gross transaction value across farm equipment, land and livestock, and that deal has since closed. Starting in the second quarter of 2026 the company reports three sectors: Automotive, Heavy Equipment and Transportation (HE&T, which absorbed the former Commercial, Construction and Transportation sector), and Other.

Full RBA guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CPRT drivers: Insurance total-loss tailwind; Global buyer network and pricing.
• RBA drivers: Automotive and the salvage flywheel; Heavy equipment supply and the replacement cycle.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Copart trades at a premium growth valuation that prices in continued strong execution, leaving it sensitive to any slowdown. For RBA, the clearest pressure point is the mix between bought growth and earned growth: excluding recent acquisitions, total GTV rose 7% in the second quarter of 2026 rather than 11%, and HE&T organic transaction volumes declined.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CPRT if you believe its drivers more; RBA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CPRT and RBA guides.

CPRT. Copart trades at a premium growth multiple that reflects its high-margin, asset-backed marketplace moat, secular total-loss tailwinds, and consistent earnings growth. The rich valuation embeds expectations for continued volume and margin strength; the net-cash balance sheet and high returns on capital are the quality features that justify the premium to investors who pay it.

RBA. Full-year 2026 guidance was raised to 9% to 11% GTV growth and $1.495 billion to $1.545 billion of adjusted EBITDA, with capital expenditures of $350 million to $400 million and a 23% to 25% tax rate. The gap between the trailing multiple near 41 times and the forward multiple near 21 times reflects heavy amortization of acquired IAA intangibles running through GAAP earnings. Net debt of roughly $4.2 billion is the other number that matters, because it sets how much of the cash flow is committed before buybacks and dividends.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): CPRT shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.5 billion, operating margin ~35-40% (very high), net income (ttm) ~$1.5 billion, dividend none; reinvests and holds net cash; RBA shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.85B, q2 2026 gtv ~$4.67B, up ~11% y/y (take rate 20.0%, down ~110bps), q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$387M, up ~6% y/y, q2 2026 eps ~$0.71 GAAP diluted, ~$1.13 adjusted.

CPRT and RBA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CPRT and RBA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.