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Cars.com Inc. key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Cars.com Inc. had return on equity of 4.1% and a net margin of 2.8%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMJun 2026
Net margin26.5%27.9%35.8%5.9%−73.4%−144.1%1.7%2.6%17.2%6.7%2.8%4.7%
Return on equity6.8%7.5%11.0%2.3%−32.2%−104.6%2.8%4.4%27.0%9.6%4.1%7.5%
Return on assets—6.9%8.9%1.5%−19.2%−50.8%1.0%1.7%10.8%4.2%1.8%3.3%
Effective tax rate—0.3%—31.8%——−13.8%23.8%—22.1%41.5%36.3%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

3 of 6 checks passed · June 30, 2026
What it owns · $1.0bn
Short-term assets $195mLonger-term assets $817m
What it owes, and who funded it · $1.0bn
Short-term liabilities $98mLonger-term liabilities $471mShareholders' equity $444m
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $195m of assets due within a year against $98m of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $195m short-term assets against $471m of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $33m of cash against $447m of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 101% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 115% to 101% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $152m of operating cash flow against $447m of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Cars.com Inc.'s latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

46 /100

Moderate moat

How hard Cars.com's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 2 / 20

    Net income has been a median 2.8% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Durability 2 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 8.7%; its worst year was -246.3%.

  • Cash conversion 20 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 10 of 10 years, at a median 20.7% of revenue.

  • Discipline 18 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 12.6% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 3.5% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (52 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: CARS vs EVERCARS vs UPWKCARS vs GENICARS vs OPRA

More: Interactive Media & Services stocks compared, Communication Services sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Cars.com Inc.'s SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 29, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Cars.com Inc.