CarMax drawdown: 64.4% below the all-time high
CarMax is 64.4% below its all-time high, set Nov 9, 2021 (as of market close, Sep 30, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.
- Below all-time high
- −64.4%
- 35.6% of ATH
- All-time high
- $154.85
- Nov 9, 2021
- Time below the high
- 4.9 yrs
- since Nov 9, 2021
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −93.2%
- Jan 20, 2000
- Longest underwater
- 4.9 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Oct 28, 2014
- 11.9 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- May 27, 2009
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 1997#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 4, 1997 | Jan 20, 2000 | −93.2% | 3.0 yrs | Dec 5, 2001 | 4.8 yrs |
| Nov 9, 2021 | Nov 6, 2025 | −80.1% | 4.0 yrs | not yet | 4.9 yrs+ |
| Jan 24, 2007 | Nov 20, 2008 | −78.7% | 1.8 yrs | Oct 8, 2010 | 3.7 yrs |
| May 9, 2002 | Mar 12, 2003 | −62.0% | 10 mo | Jul 11, 2003 | 14 mo |
| Feb 20, 2020 | Mar 20, 2020 | −56.6% | 29 days | Aug 10, 2020 | 6 mo |
| Oct 14, 2003 | Jul 16, 2004 | −53.0% | 9 mo | Sep 12, 2006 | 2.9 yrs |
| Apr 2, 2015 | Feb 11, 2016 | −43.6% | 10 mo | Sep 27, 2017 | 2.5 yrs |
| Feb 18, 2011 | Oct 3, 2011 | −36.4% | 7 mo | Dec 20, 2012 | 1.8 yrs |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 1997: how far CarMax stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ#
- How far is CarMax from its all-time high?
- CarMax is currently 64.4% below its all-time high, set Nov 9, 2021 (as of market close, Sep 30, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest CarMax drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 1997) took CarMax 93.2% below its prior high, bottoming Jan 20, 2000. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from KMX; no free deep history exists for CarMax — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.