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

Cars.com

26/02/2026 12:38

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

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)