At a glance
CoreCivic Inc is worth $3.03B, about 28 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 12.7% to $2.21B in fiscal 2025, with 5.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 3.0% a year. It pays a dividend, and returned $434.4M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +66.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +29.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 49.8% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 36.1% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 56 months and 13 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corp of America, owns and runs prisons, detention centers and reentry centers in the United States. It describes itself as the nation's largest owner of such facilities used by governments under contract. Its customers are federal, state and local agencies. Federal agencies, mainly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, paid 54% of its $2.21 billion in revenue in 2025.
The company is paid a daily rate per person, called a per diem, based on actual occupancy or a guaranteed minimum. Contracts usually run one to five years with renewal options. Besides housing and security, it provides health care and food, plus education, job training and substance abuse treatment meant to reduce repeat offending.
It reports three segments. By share of segment net operating income (facility revenue minus operating costs) in 2025, CoreCivic Safety contributed 91.7%. As of December 31, 2025, it ran 44 prisons and detention centers with about 68,000 beds, plus transportation services for government agencies. CoreCivic Community, at 5.1%, ran 20 residential reentry centers with about 4,000 beds, which help people leaving prison return to society, plus electronic monitoring. CoreCivic Properties, at 3.2%, owns five properties with about 8,000 beds for lease to government agencies, typically on five- to 20-year terms.
Price history
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CXW +66.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $684.9M, up 27.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $37.1M (-3.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.21B (+12.7% year over year; +3.0% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 5.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +3.0% watch |
|---|---|
| Free cash flow margin | 2.4% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 8.3% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 3.6% watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.91B | $54.2M | $196.0M |
| FY2021 | $1.86B | $-51.9M | $181.7M |
| FY2022 | $1.85B | $122.3M | $70.1M |
| FY2023 | $1.90B | $67.6M | $164.2M |
| FY2024 | $1.96B | $68.9M | $198.7M |
| FY2025 | $2.21B | $116.5M | $52.8M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.03B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 28.4 |
| Dividend yield | 0% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
CoreCivic’s market value went from $2.88B at the end of 2016 to $3.03B on Oct 28, 2026, up 5%; since the end of 2025 it is up 52%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.03B | +51.6% |
| 2025 | $2.00B | -16.6% |
| 2024 | $2.40B | +45.2% |
| 2023 | $1.65B | +24.2% |
| 2022 | $1.33B | +10.8% |
| 2021 | $1.20B | +53.0% |
| 2020 | $783.6M | -62.1% |
| 2019 | $2.07B | -2.2% |
| 2018 | $2.12B | -20.4% |
| 2017 | $2.66B | -7.5% |
| 2016 | $2.88B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CXW price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +60.3% | +66.7% | +35.3% | +29.0% | +12.1% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +60.3% |
| 2025 | -12.1% |
| 2024 | +49.6% |
| 2023 | +25.7% |
| 2022 | +15.9% |
| 2021 | +52.2% |
| 2020 | -59.8% |
| 2019 | +4.4% |
| 2018 | -14.1% |
| 2017 | -2.1% |
| 2016 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | -22.0% |
| 2014 | +20.3% |
| 2013 | +14.7% |
| 2012 | +77.5% |
| 2011 | -18.7% |
| 2010 | +2.1% |
| 2009 | +50.1% |
| 2008 | -44.6% |
| 2007 | +30.5% |
| 2006 | +50.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 63% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 68.4%, back to its old high 37.5 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 47.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 49.8%, back to its old high 55.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 9.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 36.1%, back to its old high 13.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 26 sales ($17.7M), 7 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2026 | Lucibeth Mayberry EVP, Chief Innovation Officer | sell | $4.0M |
| Aug 21, 2026 | David Garfinkle EVP & Chief Financial Officer | sell | $1.7M |
| Aug 17, 2026 | David Garfinkle EVP & Chief Financial Officer | sell | $1.7M |
| Aug 17, 2026 | John R Jr Prann Director | sell | $1.3M |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Mark A Emkes Director | sell | $1.0M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 14.9% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| River Road Asset Management, LLC | 7.3% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 7.16% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.11% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| COOPER CREEK PARTNERS MANAGEMENT LLC | 2.7% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CXW
| VAMO Cambria Value & Momentum ETF | 0.81% |
| SVAL iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF | 0.75% |
| JPSE JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF | 0.34% |
| USVM VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF | 0.23% |
| IWN iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | 0.2% |
| IJT iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.2% |
| SLYG SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF | 0.19% |
| IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF | 0.19% |
What could go wrong
- Political backlash against private prisons. Unions, prison reform groups and activists oppose private prisons and detention centers. A future executive order or law limiting private operators, or bad publicity after an escape or riot, could cost contracts.
- Federal detention growth may fall short. If expected growth in federal detention demand fails to arrive, the stock could fall. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using non-traditional sites and acquiring its own facilities, which could cut demand for CoreCivic beds.
- State laws aimed at immigration detention. Laws in California, Colorado and New Jersey, where CoreCivic runs detention centers, bar state and local agencies from contracting to hold ICE detainees. A proposed California bill would tax private operators' gross receipts at 50%.
- Heavy reliance on federal customers. Federal agencies, including ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service, paid 54% of 2025 revenue. Most contracts allow cancellation without cause and depend on lawmakers funding them, so budget fights or shutdowns can hurt.
- Empty beds still cost money. Many costs are fixed, but much revenue depends on daily occupancy, so falling populations can squeeze profits fast. On average, CoreCivic was paid for 77% of its rated beds in 2025.
- Debt load and refinancing risk. Total debt was about $1.36 billion as of June 30, 2026, secured by a large share of its assets. Some carries variable rates, and activist opposition to private prisons could make financing harder.
Recent events
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
CoreCivic pays essentially no dividend and has no streak of increases. It paid $0.44 per share in 2020, nothing in 2021 and 2022, and a fraction of a cent in each year since; the yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. For an income investor, any cash return would have to come from share price gains. It has favored share buybacks: about $431 million from 2021 through 2025, against about $3.7 million in dividends. Buybacks of about $229 million in 2025 far exceeded free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) of about $52.8 million. The share count fell 17.8% between August 2021 and July 2026.
Downturns have hit the stock hard: it fell 68.4% in the 2008 financial crisis, recovering by April 2012; 49.8% in the 2020 COVID crash, not recovering until November 2024; and 36.1% in the 2022 bear market, recovering by November 2023. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does CoreCivic make money?
Mostly by housing people for government agencies. CoreCivic is paid a daily rate per person, called a per diem, based on actual occupancy or a guaranteed minimum. Its CoreCivic Safety segment, which ran 44 prisons and detention centers as of December 31, 2025, produced 91.7% of segment net operating income (facility revenue minus operating costs) in 2025. Smaller sources include reentry centers, electronic monitoring, transportation services and properties leased to government agencies. Revenue was $2.21 billion in 2025, up 12.7%.
Who are CoreCivic's biggest customers?
Government agencies. Federal agencies, chiefly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, paid 54% of CoreCivic's revenue in 2025, up from 51% in 2024. State and local agencies account for most of the rest. Most facility contracts let the government cancel without cause and depend on lawmakers approving funding. Even so, CoreCivic renewed about 97% of contracts at facilities it owns or leases over the five years through 2025.
Does government policy affect CoreCivic's business?
Yes, heavily. On January 20, 2025, President Trump reversed a January 26, 2021 order from then-President Biden that had told the Justice Department not to renew contracts with private criminal detention facilities. That order did not cover ICE. CoreCivic warns that future administrations could restrict private facilities again. Several states, including California, Colorado and New Jersey, bar state and local agencies from contracting to detain people in ICE custody, and a proposed California bill would impose a 50% tax on private detention operators' gross receipts.
Does CoreCivic pay a dividend?
Not in any meaningful way. CoreCivic paid $0.44 per share in 2020, nothing in 2021 and 2022, and only a fraction of a cent per share in each year since. Its dividend yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. The company has put its money into share buybacks instead, about $431 million from 2021 through 2025, and its share count fell 17.8% between August 2021 and July 2026.
How has CoreCivic stock performed?
Strongly over five years, with deep drops along the way. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had risen 66.7% over one year and about 29% a year over five years, compared with about 12.1% a year over 10 years. It lost 59.8% in calendar 2020, falling 49.8% in the COVID crash and not regaining that peak until November 2024. Its worst peak-to-trough fall in about 21 years of price history was 78.3%.