AI Earnings Predictions for Cars.com Inc. (CARS)

EX-99.1

2 cars-ex99_1.htm

EX-99.1

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release

Cars.com Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results

Focused execution drove efficiency and profitability gains while also powering Marketplace momentum, including launch of new self-service Marketplace Starter package

• Revenue of $181.9 million includes 5% year-over-year Marketplace revenue growth

• Net income increased to $16.3 million, up 113% year-over-year

• Adjusted EBITDA grew to $55.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin of 30.7% outperformed guidance range by 120 bps

• Share repurchases totaled 1.4 million shares for $16 million; year-to-date share repurchases totaled 7.6 million shares for $74 million and are on pace to 2026 target of $90 million

CHICAGO, November 5, 2026 -- Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS), a trusted audience-powered and data-driven technology platform that simplifies buying and selling cars, today released its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026.

“Our third quarter results reinforced the growing strength of our core, scaled Marketplace. We once again grew Marketplace customers, reached another milestone in Premium+ package adoption, and also launched our first ever self-service subscription designed to meet the needs of local independent dealers. These outcomes flow directly from fundamental improvements to our operating model throughout 2026 that span our focus areas of product innovation, process efficiency, and organizational talent. Though still early, these steps point in the right direction. We are moving swiftly to extend that momentum across the rest of our portfolio as we build the foundation for product-led growth and long-term value creation,” said Tobias Hartmann, Chief Executive Officer of Cars.com, Inc.

Financial Highlights

(in thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended September 30,

2026

2025

Change %

Revenue

$ 181,883

$ 181,573

NM

Net income

16,339

7,658

113%

Adjusted net income

32,329

30,381

6%

Adjusted EBITDA

55,817

54,631

2%

Net income per diluted share

0.30

0.12

150%

Adjusted net income per diluted share

0.58

0.48

21%

Key Metrics and Operational Highlights

(in millions, except dealer data)

Three Months Ended

September 30, 2026

June 30,

2026

September 30, 2025

Change %

Change % Y/Y

Dealer Customers1

19,251

19,343

19,526

NM

(1%)

Monthly Average Revenue Per Dealer (“ARPD”)

$ 2,532

$ 2,500

$ 2,460

1%

3%

Average Monthly Unique Visitors (“UVs”)

24.7

22.8

25.5

8%

(3%)

Traffic (“Visits”)

150.2

143.0

156.2

5%

(4%)

Page 2

• Marketplace revenue was up 5% Y/Y based on both customer growth and greater uptake of higher-tier subscriptions, with Premium+ reaching 12% adoption for the quarter.

• New self-service Marketplace Starter offering(1) was adopted by nearly 400 independent dealers, driving listings on Cars.com and adding new capabilities to serve local dealers.

• ARPD rose 3% Y/Y based on healthy Marketplace performance and set its second-highest quarterly record.

• Traffic and Average Monthly UVs performance reflects continued optimization of audience acquisition strategy, which delivered robust year-over-year growth in lead volume.

• Cars.com was the #1 most cited automotive marketplace across major LLMs.2

• Carson, the Cars.com AI-powered shopping assistant, crossed 1 million monthly users, nearly doubling year-over-year.

• Appointed Mausam Bhatt as Chief Product Officer, a leader with deep experience in building and scaling digital businesses and marketplaces, underscoring the Company’s commitment to accelerating innovation and its product-led growth strategy.

NM = Not meaningful

1. Dealer Customers does not include Marketplace Starter packages, which are non-paid subscriptions.

2. Aggregated citation volume across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode. Comparing Cars.com, Edmunds, Autotrader, CarGurus, KBB, Carfax, TrueCar, Carvana, and Carmax. Semrush, September 2026.

Q3 2026 Results

Revenue for the third quarter of $181.9 million was up slightly year-over-year. Subscription-based Dealer revenue of $163.4 million was up 1% year-over-year, driven by greater Marketplace value delivery and customer count, partially offset by a decline in media and solutions products. OEM and National revenue of $15.7 million was down 3% year-over-year though up 15% quarter-over-quarter as OEM advertising recovered sequentially, as expected.

Total operating expenses for the third quarter were $153.0 million compared to $164.8 million in the prior year period, down 7% year-over-year. While depreciation and amortization continued to decrease, the Company drove operating leverage by active cost management and improved efficiencies within General and Administrative and Sales and Marketing expenses. Adjusted operating expenses were $142.4 million, down 5% year-over-year, largely reflecting the aforementioned factors.

Net income for the third quarter

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