To say the future of America’s Car-Mart is bleak might be an understatement based on results and explanations the company shared this week stemming from the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year.

And the update included the acknowledgment that the buy-here, pay-here dealership company might not even be in operation unless its situation significantly improves.

Car-Mart retailed only 2,450 vehicles during the quarter that ended July 31. That’s an 81% decrease from the year-ago quarter.

The company also said total revenue for the quarter came in at $145.8 million, a decrease of 57.3% year-over-year.

In a news release, Car-Mar president and CEO Doug Campbell said, “Our first quarter results reflect the capital constraints that have defined our results over the last several quarters. With limited capacity to purchase inventory and fund originations, retail units were down 81.9% and revenue was down 57.3%. Inventory ended the quarter at $35.2 million against $112.5 million a year ago.

“This is a capital structure story, not a demand story. Application volume was limited by the vehicles we had available to sell,” Campbell added.

Car-Mart did not host a quarterly conference call with investment analysts. Rather the company pointed to its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which indicated conditions affecting its liquidity and capital structure described in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year that ended April 30 continued throughout the first quarter of fiscal 2027 “without material improvement.”

Car-Mart then said bluntly in the filing, “The company continued to have no revolving credit facility or warehouse facility available to it, completed no asset-backed term funding transactions during the quarter, and obtained no new financing.”

On June 19, Car-Mart announced that it had entered into an amendment to its credit and guaranty agreement with Silver Point Finance, as administrative agent, and the company’s lenders.

Under the terms of the amendment, the company must satisfy certain milestones, and the lenders have agreed to waive specified defaults and events of default under the credit agreement and to provide covenant relief for a defined period.

“As of the July 31, 2026 testing date under the amendment, the company was in compliance with all applicable covenants, and it remains in compliance as of the date of this release,” Campbell said.

“On Sept. 4, 2026, the scheduled termination date of this amendment was extended through Sept. 11, 2026. The purpose of this extension is to allow the company additional time to evaluate the alternatives available and continue discussions with prospective counterparties,” Campbell continued. “The company remains focused on the interests of its lenders, stockholders, associates, customers, and vendors as this process continues. The company cannot assure, however, that the review of strategic and financing alternatives will result in any transaction or other outcome favorable to the company or its stockholders or that the company will be able to secure additional financing on acceptable terms, or at all.”

What happens if the performance pace Car-Mart had in Q1 triggers parts of that agreement?

“If the company fails to satisfy the covenants, milestones, and conditions under the credit and guaranty agreement and the amendment, or is unable to obtain further covenant relief, waivers, forbearance or financing before the relief period expires, the lenders would be entitled to exercise remedies under the credit and guaranty agreement, including acceleration of the outstanding indebtedness, which could trigger cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions under the company’s other financing arrangements,” Car-Mart said in the latest SEC filing.

And perhaps even more concerning, Car-Mart acknowledged, “The company would not have sufficient liquidity to repay such indebtedness if it were accelerated.”

Car-Mart explained its material cash requirements over the next 12 months consist primarily of:

—Debt service on the senior secured term loan and the non-recourse notes payable

—Operating lease payments

—Vehicle inventory purchases and finance receivable originations to the extent available liquidity permits

—Compensation and other operating costs

—Professional and advisory fees associated with the strategic alternatives review and the company’s financing arrangements.

“The company expects capital expenditures to remain limited to essential maintenance requirements,” Car-Mart said in the filing.

Car-Mart reiterated its current plans are focused on:

—Maintaining efficient operations

—Managing the size and composition of its finance receivables portfolio in light of available liquidity

—Reducing outstanding debt

The company added that it is pursuing additional liquidity through potential financing sources, including additional securitized borrowings, warehouse facilities, and other debt or equity arrangements.

Furthermore, a special committee of the board of directors, with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors, is conducting a review of strategic and financing alternatives intended to address the company’s liquidity and capital structure. But as of the close of the first quarter of its fiscal year, that committee did not secure a transaction.

“There can be no assurance that any financing or strategic transaction will be available or completed on acceptable terms, or at all, and these plans have not alleviated the substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are issued,” Car-Mart said in the filing.

“Unless and until the company obtains additional financing or completes one or more strategic transactions, the company expects its liquidity to remain constrained and to continue to limit vehicle inventory purchases and finance receivable originations, which will continue to adversely affect its revenues, operating results, cash flows and its ability to continue as a going concern,” Car-Mart went on to say.

Car-Mart left investment observers and other industry participants with these comments in the filing.

“Management has concluded that its plans, which are subject to conditions and events outside the company’s control and which have not been fully implemented as of the date these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are issued, are not probable of being effectively implemented and mitigating the conditions described above, and therefore do not alleviate the substantial doubt,” Car-Mart said.

“Accordingly, there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are issued. The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared assuming the company will continue to operate as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities in the normal course of business. They do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets, or the amounts and classifications of liabilities, that may result from the uncertainty related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Car-Mart went on to say.