Cars.com (CARS) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence. Offerings include digital advertising packages, inventory-management software, customer relationship management integrations, and performance analytics. By leveraging data insights and targeted advertising solutions, the company supports dealers in optimizing their marketing spend, increasing showroom traffic, and improving conversion rates.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Cars.com has evolved from its origins as a consumer-facing auto research site to a publicly traded company (NYSE: CARS) following its initial public offering in 2017. Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Vetter, the company has invested in technology enhancements, mobile experience improvements, and strategic partnerships to maintain its position in a competitive digital marketplace. Its leadership team emphasizes innovation in online retailing and data-driven services for both consumers and dealers.

Serving car shoppers and automotive professionals across all 50 states, Cars.com collaborates with a network of thousands of dealerships to cover a broad range of vehicle makes and models. The platform continues to expand its product portfolio with features such as virtual showroom tools, financing comparisons and augmented reality showroom previews. With a focus on transparency and efficiency, Cars.com strives to streamline every stage of the vehicle purchase journey, from initial research to post-sale support.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $10.93 to $11.24
• 50-Day Range: $7.58 to $11.18
• 52-Week Range: $7.40 to $13.97
• Volume: 639,416 shs
• Average Volume: 905,396 shs
• Market Capitalization: $649.49 million
• P/E Ratio: 8.36
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $16.00
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Cars.com Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Cars.com scored higher than 78% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 74th out of 195 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Cars.com has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.38, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 4 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Upside Potential

Cars.com has a consensus price target of $16.00, representing about 43.2% upside from its current price of $11.17.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Cars.com has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 6.56%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Cars.com are expected to grow by 6.56% in the coming year, from $1.83 to $1.95 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Cars.com is 34.92, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 38.56.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Cars.com is 34.92, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 18.29.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Cars.com has a P/B Ratio of 1.41. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

12.08% of the float of Cars.com has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Cars.com has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.26.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Cars.com has recently decreased by 6.22%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Cars.com does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Cars.com does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.76

News Sentiment

Cars.com has a news sentiment score of 0.76. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Cars.com this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Net Insider Buying

Over the last three months, insiders have purchased a net $15,082.00 in company stock, which represents 0.0023% of the company's market cap.

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Cars.com insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $15,082.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

3.36% of the stock of Cars.com is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

89.15% of the stock of Cars.com is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

CARS Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CARS shares performed this year?

Cars.com's stock was trading at $12.19 at the beginning of 2026. Since then, CARS stock has decreased by 8.3% and is now trading at $11.1730.

How were Cars.com's earnings last quarter?

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February, 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Cars.com have any subsidiaries?

The following companies are subsidiaries of Cars.com: CreditIQ, Dealer Inspire, Launch Digital Marketing, DealerRater, PickupTrucks.com, Cars.com LLC, CreditIQ LLC, and more.

Who are Cars.com's major shareholders?

Cars.com's top institutional shareholders include Peregrine Capital Management LLC (0.48%), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (0.46%), Lee Danner & Bass Inc. (0.09%) and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (0.07%). Insiders that own company stock include Thomas Alex Vetter, Sonia Jain, Douglas Neal Miller, Angelique Strong Marks, Jill A Greenthal, Matthew B Crawford, Jenell Ross, Jr Donald A Mcgovern and Bryan Wiener.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Cars.com?

Shares of CARS stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Cars.com own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Cars.com investors own include Humana (HUM), American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AUO (AUOTY) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 2/26/2026
• Today: 5/05/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 5/07/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: INTERNET COMMERCE
• Sub-Industry: Business Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:CARS
• Previous Symbol: NASDAQ:CARS
• CIK: 1683606
• Web: www.cars.com
• Phone: 312-601-5000
• Fax: 312-601-5755
• Employees: 1,700
• Year Founded: 1998

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Cars.com: $16.00
• High Price Target: $25.00
• Low Price Target: $10.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +43.2%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.38
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $0.32
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 8.36
• Forward P/E Ratio: 6.11
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $20.05 million
• Net Margins: 2.77%
• Pretax Margin: 4.74%
• Return on Equity: 17.31%
• Return on Assets: 7.77%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.96
• Current Ratio: 1.87
• Quick Ratio: 1.87

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $723.24 million
• Price / Sales: 0.90
• Cash Flow: $3.03 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 3.69
• Book Value: $7.90 per share
• Price / Book: 1.41

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 58,130,000
• Free Float: 56,178,000
• Market Cap: $649.49 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.64