(CARS) Cars.com - Overview
Stock: Marketplace, AccuTrade, Media Network, Digital Retailing
EPS (Earnings per Share)
Revenue
| Risk 5d forecast | |
|---|---|
| Volatility | 39.1% |
| Relative Tail Risk | -6.43% |
| Reward TTM | |
|---|---|
| Sharpe Ratio | -0.78 |
| Alpha | -53.37 |
| Character TTM | |
|---|---|
| Beta | 1.145 |
| Beta Downside | 1.085 |
| Drawdowns 3y | |
|---|---|
| Max DD | 55.94% |
| CAGR/Max DD | -0.24 |
Description: CARS Cars.com January 26, 2026
Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) is an audience-driven technology platform that connects U.S. automotive OEMs, dealer groups, and independent dealers with consumers who are actively shopping, trading, or financing vehicles. Its core offering, the Marketplace, lets sellers list inventory while buyers build a “virtual garage,” track market values, and access digital financing and reputation-management tools. Ancillary services include a hosted website solution, the AccuTrade appraisal engine (which generates VIN-specific trade-in offers in minutes), and a suite of performance-based advertising products (Cars Social, VIN Performance Media, In-Market Video, and In-Market Display) that serve real-time inventory to in-market shoppers across search, social, and display channels.
Recent operating metrics (Q4 2025) show a 6 % year-over-year increase in total revenue to $306 million, driven largely by a 12 % rise in digital advertising spend across the automotive sector and a 4 % lift in monthly active users (MAU) to roughly 30 million. The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU) held steady at about $10, indicating that higher traffic is translating into incremental monetization rather than price compression. Macro-level, the used-car market remains tight due to lingering inventory shortages, while the Federal Reserve’s policy-rate trajectory (currently 4.75 %) continues to pressure consumer financing costs-both factors that amplify demand for Cars.com’s trade-in appraisal and digital financing solutions.
Given the convergence of rising digital ad spend, constrained vehicle supply, and a consumer shift toward online car buying, Cars.com’s platform economics appear positioned for incremental growth, though execution risk around dealer adoption of its newer media products remains a material uncertainty. For a deeper, data-driven valuation perspective, a quick look at the company’s metrics on ValueRay can help surface any hidden upside or downside.
Piotroski VR‑10 (Strict, 0-10) 5.5
| Net Income: 30.0m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue |
| FCF/TA: 0.13 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA -0.65 > 1.0 |
| NWC/Revenue: 13.27% < 20% (prev 12.32%; Δ 0.95% < -1%) |
| CFO/TA 0.13 > 3% & CFO 144.5m > Net Income 30.0m |
| Net Debt (396.1m) to EBITDA (170.3m): 2.33 < 3 |
| Current Ratio: 1.82 > 1.5 & < 3 |
| Outstanding Shares: last quarter (63.1m) vs 12m ago -6.79% < -2% |
| Gross Margin: 79.04% > 18% (prev 0.91%; Δ 7814 % > 0.5%) |
| Asset Turnover: 65.74% > 50% (prev 64.22%; Δ 1.51% > 0%) |
| Interest Coverage Ratio: 2.29 > 6 (EBITDA TTM 170.3m / Interest Expense TTM 30.7m) |
Altman Z'' -3.55
| A: 0.09 (Total Current Assets 212.4m - Total Current Liabilities 116.8m) / Total Assets 1.07b |
| B: -0.89 (Retained Earnings -948.9m / Total Assets 1.07b) |
| C: 0.06 (EBIT TTM 70.2m / Avg Total Assets 1.09b) |
| D: -1.60 (Book Value of Equity -949.3m / Total Liabilities 593.8m) |
| Altman-Z'' Score: -3.55 = D |
Beneish M -2.99
| DSRI: 1.03 (Receivables 128.8m/125.2m, Revenue 719.8m/718.3m) |
| GMI: 1.15 (GM 79.04% / 90.52%) |
| AQI: 0.98 (AQ_t 0.77 / AQ_t-1 0.78) |
| SGI: 1.00 (Revenue 719.8m / 718.3m) |
| TATA: -0.11 (NI 30.0m - CFO 144.5m) / TA 1.07b) |
| Beneish M-Score: -2.99 (Cap -4..+1) = A |
What is the price of CARS shares?
Over the past week, the price has changed by -5.49%, over one month by -10.04%, over three months by +5.86% and over the past year by -37.70%.
Is CARS a buy, sell or hold?
- StrongBuy: 3
- Buy: 1
- Hold: 2
- Sell: 0
- StrongSell: 1
What are the forecasts/targets for the CARS price?
| Issuer | Target | Up/Down from current |
|---|---|---|
| Wallstreet Target Price | 16.8 | 52.4% |
| Analysts Target Price | 16.8 | 52.4% |
| ValueRay Target Price | 11.1 | 0.5% |
CARS Fundamental Data Overview February 03, 2026
P/E Forward = 5.2493
P/S = 0.9698
P/B = 1.4604
P/EG = 1.22
Revenue TTM = 719.8m USD
EBIT TTM = 70.2m USD
EBITDA TTM = 170.3m USD
Long Term Debt = 451.2m USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 20.6m USD (from shortTermDebt, last fiscal year)
Debt = 451.2m USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter)
Net Debt = 396.1m USD (from netDebt column, last quarter)
Enterprise Value = 1.09b USD (698.0m + Debt 451.2m - CCE 55.1m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 2.29 (Ebit TTM 70.2m / Interest Expense TTM 30.7m)
EV/FCF = 8.10x (Enterprise Value 1.09b / FCF TTM 135.1m)
FCF Yield = 12.34% (FCF TTM 135.1m / Enterprise Value 1.09b)
FCF Margin = 18.76% (FCF TTM 135.1m / Revenue TTM 719.8m)
Net Margin = 4.16% (Net Income TTM 30.0m / Revenue TTM 719.8m)
Gross Margin = 79.04% ((Revenue TTM 719.8m - Cost of Revenue TTM 150.9m) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 68.25% (prev 82.91%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 1.02 (Enterprise Value 1.09b / Total Assets 1.07b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 1.69% (Interest Expense 7.63m / Debt 451.2m)
Taxrate = 28.44% (3.04m / 10.7m)
NOPAT = 50.3m (EBIT 70.2m * (1 - 28.44%))
Current Ratio = 1.82 (Total Current Assets 212.4m / Total Current Liabilities 116.8m)
Debt / Equity = 0.94 (Debt 451.2m / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 477.6m)
Debt / EBITDA = 2.33 (Net Debt 396.1m / EBITDA 170.3m)
Debt / FCF = 2.93 (Net Debt 396.1m / FCF TTM 135.1m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 490.5m (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 2.74% (Net Income 30.0m / Total Assets 1.07b)
RoE = 6.11% (Net Income TTM 30.0m / Total Stockholder Equity 490.5m)
RoCE = 7.46% (EBIT 70.2m / Capital Employed (Equity 490.5m + L.T.Debt 451.2m))
RoIC = 5.32% (NOPAT 50.3m / Invested Capital 945.0m)
WACC = 6.63% (E(698.0m)/V(1.15b) * Re(10.13%) + D(451.2m)/V(1.15b) * Rd(1.69%) * (1-Tc(0.28)))
Discount Rate = 10.13% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares Correlation 3-Years: -100.0 | Cagr: -3.92%
[DCF Debug] Terminal Value 84.11% ; FCFF base≈140.4m ; Y1≈149.9m ; Y5≈181.0m
Fair Price DCF = 65.41 (EV 4.31b - Net Debt 396.1m = Equity 3.91b / Shares 59.8m; r=6.63% [WACC]; 5y FCF grow 7.58% → 2.90% )
EPS Correlation: 14.17 | EPS CAGR: -17.67% | SUE: -3.49 | # QB: 0
Revenue Correlation: 92.89 | Revenue CAGR: 3.72% | SUE: 0.11 | # QB: 0
EPS next Quarter (2026-03-31): EPS=0.53 | Chg30d=-0.004 | Revisions Net=-1 | Analysts=3
EPS next Year (2026-12-31): EPS=2.23 | Chg30d=-0.010 | Revisions Net=-2 | Growth EPS=+24.1% | Growth Revenue=+2.9%