Cars.com Q4 revenue slightly beats estimates, net income falls on yr-ago gain

Cars.com Inc.

Cars.com Inc.

CARS

0.00


Overview

  • Car marketplace's Q4 revenue slightly beat analyst expectations

  • Net income for Q4 fell 57% yr/yr due to prior period investment gain

  • Company repurchased 7.1 mln shares, retiring 9% of shares outstanding


Outlook

  • Company expects Q1 2026 revenue to be flat to up 1% year-over-year

  • Company anticipates Q1 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.0% to 27.0%

  • Cars.com sees full-year 2026 revenue flat to up 2% year-over-year

  • Company expects full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin of 29.0% to 30.0%


Result Drivers

  • DEALER REVENUE GROWTH - Subscription-based dealer revenue rose 3% yr/yr, driven by marketplace and website repackaging benefits

  • MARKETPLACE PREMIUM+ GROWTH - Marketplace Premium+ subscriber base more than doubled quarter-over-quarter during Q4

  • OEM REVENUE DECLINE - OEM and National revenue fell 9% yr/yr, reflecting changes in OEM spending


Company press release: ID:nPn6JNVCLa


Key Details

Metric

Beat/Miss

Actual

Consensus Estimate

Q4 Revenue

Slight Beat*

$183.90 mln

$183.45 mln (6 Analysts)

Q4 Net Income

$7.40 mln

Q4 Adjusted EBITDA

$54.90 mln

Q4 Adjusted Operating Expenses

$145.50 mln

Q4 Operating Expenses

$162.20 mln

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.


Analyst Coverage

  • The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

  • The average consensus recommendation for the online services peer group is "buy"

  • Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Cars.com Inc is $16.00, about 49% above its February 25 closing price of $10.74

  • The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 16 three months ago


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