(Bloomberg) -- CarMax Inc. kicked off marketing for a $1.25 billion bond sale just hours after it missed analysts’ estimates in earnings results for the fourth quarter.

The auto retailer plans to sell the debt through an asset-backed securities offering that could be increased to $1.6 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is structuring the deal, which may be formally announced early next week, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.

The potential issuance comes as the company’s shares fell the most in more than 18 months after reporting profits that missed Wall Street’s expectations, as high monthly payments scare off would-be used-car buyers. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter came to 32 cents, the company said Thursday in a statement, below analysts’ consensus estimate for 45 cents.

CarMax blamed “vehicle affordability challenges” for the weak performance, citing inflationary pressure, high interest rates, tougher lending standards and sagging consumer confidence.

To be sure, the company’s foray into the ABS market isn’t unusual. It regularly offloads consumer auto loans it makes to investors, most recently by raising $1.55 billion in a January ABS offering backed up by prime auto loans. 

The company has sold over $54 billion in the ABS market since 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A representative for CarMax declined to comment.

--With assistance from Marisa Gertz and Will Daley.

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