What is the current Cars.com (CARS) stock price?

Cars.com is currently trading at $9.65, a change of +0.84% from the previous close. The 52-week range spans from $7.40 to $13.97.

What is Cars.com's P/E ratio?

Cars.com has a trailing P/E ratio of 22.44x, with a forward P/E of 3.84x. For reference, the S&P 500 average P/E is around 24.7x.

What is the analyst consensus on Cars.com?

7 analysts rate Cars.com as Hold on average. The mean price target is $13.00, implying +34.7% from the current price.

Where can I buy Cars.com stock?

You can buy Cars.com (CARS) at any regulated online broker. Compare the best options (Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Interactive Brokers, DEGIRO) in our broker comparison by fees, savings plans, and available exchanges.

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Company Focus

Overview

Price Chart

Key Metrics

Valuation

Financials

Earnings

Dividends

Analyst Ratings

Insider Trades

Events Timeline

News + Sentiment

Peer Comparison

Cars.com

CARS Small Cap

Communication Services · Internet Content & Information

Updated: May 22, 2026, 22:06 UTC

$9.65

+0.84% today

52W: $7.40 – $13.97

52W Low: $7.40 Position: 34.2% 52W High: $13.97

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Key Metrics

P/E Ratio

22.44x

Price-to-Earnings

Forward P/E

3.84x

Forward Price/Earnings

P/S Ratio

0.74x

Price-to-Sales

EV/EBITDA

6.07x

Enterprise Value/EBITDA

Div. Yield

—

Annual dividend yield

Market Cap

$539.5M

Market Capitalization

Revenue Growth

0.7%

YoY Revenue Growth

Profit Margin

3.73%

Net profit margin

ROE

5.69%

Return on Equity

Beta

1.64

Market sensitivity

Short Interest

13.95%

% of float sold short

Avg. Volume

1,472,493

Average daily volume

Valuation Analysis

Signal

Fair

vs. S&P 500 avg P/E (24.7x)

Analyst Consensus

Hold

7 analysts

Avg. Price Target

$13.00

+34.72% upside

Target Range

$9.00 – $17.50

About the Company

Cars.com Inc., an audience-driven technology company, provides solutions for the automotive industry in the United States. The company offers marketplace through Cars.com that allows OEMs and dealers to merchandise their inventory, as well as provides reputation management technology and digital financing tools. It also operates dealer websites to transform automotive retail processes; and trade and appraisal product, including AccuTrade, which uses demand data and diagnostic scans to determine the right trade-in offer for every VIN in minutes. In addition, the company offers media solution, such as Cars Social, allows dealers to target and serve native advertisements displaying real-time inventory to in-market car shoppers on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platform; VIN Perfo

Sector: Communication Services Industry: Internet Content & Information Country: United States Employees: 1,700 Exchange: NYQ

Cars.com Stock at a Glance

Cars.com (CARS) is currently trading at $9.65 with a market capitalization of $539.5M. The trailing P/E ratio stands at 22.44x, with a forward P/E of 3.84x. The 52-week range spans from $7.40 to $13.97; the current price is 30.9% below the yearly high. Year-over-year revenue growth stands at +0.7%. The net profit margin stands at 3.73%.

💰 Dividend

Cars.com currently does not pay a dividend. The company typically reinvests its earnings into growth initiatives and product development.

📊 Analyst Rating

7 analysts rate Cars.com (CARS) on consensus: Hold. The average price target is $13.00, implying +34.72% from the current price. Analyst price targets range from $9.00 to $17.50.

Investment Thesis: Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

High gross margin of 66.62% — indicates pricing power
Positive free cash flow

Weaknesses

–Low profitability (3.73% margin)
–High short interest (13.95%)

Technical Snapshot

50-Day MA

$9.69

-0.41% vs. price

200-Day MA

$11.22

-13.99% vs. price

Below 52W High

−30.9%

$13.97

Above 52W Low

+30.4%

$7.40

Price is below both the 50- and 200-day moving averages, with 50d below 200d — a bearish picture (death-cross alignment).

Risk Profile

Market Risk (Beta)

1.64 · Elevated

Moves more than the overall market

Short Interest

13.95% · High

% of float sold short

Debt-to-Equity

98.06 · Moderate

Total debt / equity

The data points to above-average price swings, elevated short interest (13.95%).

Trading Data

50-Day MA: $9.69

200-Day MA: $11.22

Volume: 704,595

Avg. Volume: 1,472,493

Short Ratio: 6.42

P/B Ratio: 1.2x

Debt/Equity: 98.06x

Free Cash Flow: $117.4M

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Cars.com (CARS) 2026: 9,85 USD US Automotive-Online-Marketplace at 3,85x Forward Earnings with OEM-and-Dealer Audience-Driven Technology Platform and Deep-Value Setup

The Real Story

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS) is a Chicago-headquartered audience-driven-technology platform for the US automotive-industry. Offerings include Cars.com marketplace for OEM-and-dealer-vehicle-merchandising, plus Dealer Inspire dealership-software, FUEL digital-advertising and DealerRater reviews-platform.

What Smart Money Thinks

Cars.com has activist-engaged institutional base. Starboard Value activist-engagement historical. BlackRock at approximately 12,4 percent, Vanguard at approximately 9,8 percent. Short-interest sits at approximately 8 percent of float as of May 2026.

Explore the BMI Smart-Money Tracker →

📈 The 3 Real Bull Points

#1 3,85x forward earnings reflects extreme cyclical-trough — re-rating supports 100+ percent upside

Re-rating to 7-10x on consensus fiscal-2027 EPS approximately 2,30 USD supports 16-23 USD price range.

#2 Dealer Inspire SaaS-platform plus FUEL digital-advertising defensive recurring revenue

Dealer Inspire dealer-software-platform plus FUEL retail-media-network provides defensive recurring revenue versus pure-marketplace traffic-volatility.

#3 Strategic-review optionality plus continued buyback discipline

Continued share-buyback at depressed-prices plus strategic-review optionality support per-share economics.

📉 The 3 Real Bear Points

#1 Used-car-marketplace competitive intensity from CarGurus, AutoTrader, Carvana compresses pricing-power

Intense competition compresses Cars.com marketplace-monetization.

#2 OEM-and-dealer advertising-budget cyclicality compresses revenue

Auto-cycle weakness compresses dealer advertising-spending.

#3 EV-transition and broader-auto-cycle uncertainty extend cyclical-trough timing

EV-transition execution-risk plus broader-cycle uncertainty.

Valuation in Context

Cars.com at 9,85 USD per share with approximately 55,9 million shares outstanding has a market capitalization of approximately 551 million USD. Forward-P/E 3,85x.

Re-rating to 7-10x on fiscal-2027 EPS 2,30 USD supports 16-23 USD — 62-135 percent upside. Bear-case 6-7 USD. Bull-case 28-35 USD.

🗓️ Next 3 Catalyst Dates

2026 Q3:
Q2 2026 earnings.
2027 Q1:
Fiscal-2026 full-year results.
2027 H2:
Auto-cycle recovery milestones.

💬 Daniel's Take

Cars.com is a deep-value US automotive online-marketplace with Dealer Inspire SaaS-recurring-base, 3,85x forward earnings extreme-trough, and strategic-review optionality. Position-sizing: 0,5–1,2 percent.

Sources (3)

Disclaimer: This article is not investment advice. Investing in stocks carries risks, including total loss.

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