RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — CarMax says higher sales drove the used car dealership chain's first-quarter profit up more than 21 percent.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. Its shares rose almost 5 percent in premarket trading.

The Richmond, Va.-based company said Friday it earned $146.7 million, or 64 cents per share, for the period ended May 31. That's up from $120.7 million, or 52 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue grew 19 percent to $3.31 billion.

Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of $3.17 billion.

Sales at stores open at least one year rose 17 percent. The figure is a key metric because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations.

CarMax Inc. runs about 120 stores that mainly sell used cars and trucks.