Cars.com

CARS · NYSE · Communication Services · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

CARS · Last close · November 6, 2026

$13.35

Cars.com's revenue rose 0.6% to $723 million in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 8.3%, up from 7.4% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $147 million, down 1.4%. It paid out $87 million in dividends and buybacks, 59% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 6.1%.

CARS.COM, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 26, 2026 · 0001193125-26-076546 Updated November 9, 2026

Revenue

$723M

0.6%

Operating margin

8.3%

0.9 pts

Net income

$20M

58.4%

Free cash flow

$147M

1.4%

Return on capital

3.9%

0.5 pts

Market cap

$738M

Nov 6 close

P/E

17.8x

On $0.75 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Cars.com does

Cars Commerce, which runs the Cars.com marketplace, operates an online platform for buying and selling cars. Shoppers use it to search listings, read reviews and expert content, and use financing and trade-in value tools. It says its marketplace had an average of 26 million monthly users in 2025, plus more than 4.6 million monthly unique vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and more than 16 million consumer reviews at the end of 2025.

Its customers are dealers and automakers (OEMs). It says about 19,500 franchise and independent dealers in the U.S. and Canada use its platform, and substantially all OEMs selling vehicles in the U.S. and Canada do business with it. Dealers subscribe to the marketplace, to more tools such as dealer websites and trade and appraisal tools, or to website products alone.

Substantially all of its revenue comes from subscription products sold to dealers and other customers in or near the auto industry. It also offers media advertising solutions and AI-powered shopping features.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Exposure to the wider auto industry, including consumer demand and direct-to-consumer sales models.
Revenue that comes almost entirely from subscriptions sold to auto dealers and related customers.
Dealer or automaker closures and consolidation, and influence held by a few large OEMs and dealer groups.
Keeping its brand strong and drawing traffic to its sites with its own content.
The growing use and regulation of generative and agentic AI, and risks in its expanding Canadian operations.

From Cars.com's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share fell 20.3% a year and net income 21.4% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 12%.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	39	32	39	51	56
Debt incl. finance leases	478	481	490	460	455
Net debt (negative means net cash)	438	450	451	409	399
Net debt to EBITDA	2.9x	2.8x	2.9x	2.5x	2.6x
Debt to equity	1.2x	1.2x	1.0x	0.9x	1.0x
Interest coverage	1.3x	2.0x	1.8x	1.6x	2.0x
Current ratio	1.6x	1.4x	1.2x	1.8x	1.9x
Quick ratio	1.6x	1.4x	1.2x	1.8x	1.9x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Cars.com's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Cars.com's projections

What Cars.com says to expect

Full year 2026: revenueRevenue is expected to be flat to up 2% year-over-year, reflecting growth in Marketplace revenue and pressure in Dealer and OEM media products amid current market conditions.
Full year 2026: adjusted EBITDA marginAdjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be between 29.0% to 30.0%.

The company's own words, from its earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), filed November 5, 2026. They are its expectations, not ours, and not a forecast or price target from The Filing Desk. Replaced when the next release is out.

Insider trades

No officer, director or 10% owner of Cars.com reported buying or selling its shares on the open market between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026.

From Form 4 filings with the SEC. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	7 of 8	6 of 8	6 of 8
Rule of 40	25.1%	25.1%	20.9%
Altman Z''	−1.56	−1.03	−1.06
Accruals ratio	−1.7%	−9.1%	−12.1%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Fail
Current ratio rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Fail	Pass
F-score	7 of 8	6 of 8	6 of 8

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Cars.com side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Cars.com	FY25	0.6%	8.3%	20.4%	3.9%	2.6x	6
EverQuote	FY25	38.5%	8.4%	13.0%	—	—	—	Compare
CarGurus	FY25	13.7%	26.9%	31.9%	90.3%	−0.7x	7	Compare
Bumble	FY25	−9.9%	−83.4%	—	−44.5%	—	4	Compare
Shutterstock	FY25	5.8%	7.6%	12.5%	6.7%	0.6x	7	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	633	626	662	607	548	624	654	689	719	723
Revenue growth	6.1%	−1.1%	5.7%	−8.4%	−9.8%	13.9%	4.8%	5.4%	4.3%	0.6%
Gross profit	576	561	572	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	177	134	84	−446	−887	48	66	54	54	60
Net income	176	224	39	−445	−789	11	17	118	48	20
Diluted EPS (US$)	2.46	3.13	0.55	−6.65	−11.74	0.15	0.25	1.74	0.72	0.32
Diluted shares (millions)	72	72	70	67	67	71	70	68	67	63
Cash flow
Cash from operations	199	186	164	102	139	138	128	137	152	152
Capital expenditure	10	33	14	21	17	2	2	1	3	4
Free cash flow	189	153	149	80	122	137	127	135	150	147
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	97	40	0	0	49	31	49	87
Acquisitions	115	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	—	3	9	8	15	21	22	28	31	31
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	9	21	26	14	68	39	32	39	51	56
Debt incl. finance leases	—	584	696	648	598	478	481	490	460	455
Total assets	2,547	2,511	2,600	2,028	1,076	1,007	1,025	1,172	1,112	1,062
Total liabilities	130	832	974	887	736	609	640	680	600	590
Shareholders' equity	2,417	1,679	1,627	1,141	368	398	384	492	512	472
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	91.0%	89.5%	86.3%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	27.9%	21.4%	12.7%	−73.5%	−162.1%	7.8%	10.1%	7.8%	7.4%	8.3%
Net margin	27.9%	35.8%	5.9%	−73.4%	−144.1%	1.7%	2.6%	17.2%	6.7%	2.8%
Free cash flow margin	29.9%	24.5%	22.6%	13.2%	22.3%	21.9%	19.4%	19.6%	20.8%	20.4%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	36.1%	23.4%	28.3%	4.8%	12.5%	35.8%	24.2%	25.1%	25.1%	20.9%
Return on capital	—	—	2.5%	−17.3%	−52.4%	5.6%	6.0%	6.1%	4.5%	3.9%
Return on equity	—	11.0%	2.4%	−32.2%	−104.6%	2.8%	4.4%	27.0%	9.6%	4.1%
Return on assets	—	8.9%	1.5%	−19.2%	−50.9%	1.0%	1.7%	10.8%	4.2%	1.8%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	2.5x	3.6x	—	—	2.9x	2.8x	2.9x	2.5x	2.6x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Cars.com's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Cars.com.