Cars.com Inc. · Data processing and cloud

CARS

Low riskNext report: Around Nov 5 (est.)

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The short version

A profitable company with steady sales. Institutions are trimming.

Going well

Profitable
Brings in more cash than it spends
Buying back shares: share count down 9.2% in 3 years

Money moves

No insider buying or selling in the last 30 days
Institutions cut 3.6% from their holdings in the quarter ending June 2026 (87 bought, 101 sold)

Facts from SEC filings, not a recommendation.

What the price means

Price as of Oct 26

$10.78-1.6% that day

Company value: $577M; Share price times all shares
Price vs profit (P/E): 18.9x; You pay about $19 for each $1 of yearly profit
Price vs sales: 0.80x; Company value is 0.80 times a year of sales
Cash vs value: 6%; Cash as a share of company value
Debt vs value: 79%; Debt as a share of company value

From CARS's last IEX trade and its SEC filings (profits and sales over the last four quarters). A starting point for research, not a verdict.

The business over time

Last 12 quarters, from SEC filings

Sales, Jun '26

$179.9M+0.7% vs a year earlier

Sep '23Tap a barJun '26

Last 12 months: $725.6M, up 1.1% from the 12 months before. Over 5 years, sales grew about 5.7% a year.

What the price assumes

Your guesses, our math

Move the sliders to your own view of CARS. Starting points are the company's recent numbers.

Sales growth+1% a yearRecently: +1.1% a yearProfit margin5%Last 12 months: 4.7%P/E at the end19xToday: 18.9x. Many steady companies trade at 12x to 25xShare count change-3% a yearBelow zero means buybacks; above zero means new shares (dilution)

Sales in 5 years$763M

Profit in 5 years$38M

Price these guesses point to$15.76+46% vs $10.78 todayAbout +7.9% a year, before dividends

What today's price needs: with a 5% margin and a 19x P/E, sales could shrink about 6.4% a year for 5 years and still match today's price.

Simple math on your guesses, not a forecast or a price target. Real results depend on many things these sliders leave out.

Price

Price chart by TradingView.

Business quality

The checklist Warren Buffett-style investors use. Annual numbers for 2025.

2/6Weak

MissReturn on equity 15%+Earns a lot on the money owners have in the business.4.1%
MissDebt under half of equityNot relying on borrowed money.0.96x equity
MissNet margin 10%+Keeps at least 10 cents of profit from each dollar of sales.2.8%
MissProfitable every yearSteady profits, not one good year.8 of 10 years
PassFree cash flow positiveBrings in more cash than it spends to run and grow.$147.4M
PassShare count not growingNot diluting owners. Falling means buybacks.-9.2% in 3 years

Revenue: $723.2M; +0.6% vs prior year
5-year growth: +5.7%/yr; revenue, per year
Total debt: $455.0M; 0.96x equity
Current ratio: 1.87x; short-term assets / bills due

From annual reports filed with the SEC. Not in this company's SEC data, so not scored: gross margin 40%+. A checklist is a starting point for research, not a verdict.