Last 44 quarters of trend data · Consumer Cyclical · Auto - Dealerships
Quarterly valuation ratios — annualised for comparability. YoY Δ shows same-quarter-prior-year change.
Cars.com Inc.'s quarterly P/E stands at 25.4x. EV/EBITDA has compressed 63.4% YoY to 3.1x, reflecting multiple compression or accelerating EBITDA.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio → | 38.56 | 25.37 | 25.42 | 25.46 | 26.93 | — | 16.66 | 14.96 | 28.97 | 370.26 | 39.52 | 64.25 | 3.62 |
| — | — | +52.5% | +70.1% | -7.0% | — | -57.8% | -76.7% | +701.0% | +1204.5% | +72.2% | — | -87.7% | |
| P/S Ratio | 0.97 | 0.67 | 1.02 | 1.06 | 1.07 | 1.01 | 1.60 | 1.58 | 1.87 | 1.60 | 1.80 | 1.66 | 2.02 |
| — | -33.8% | -36.2% | -32.8% | -42.8% | -36.7% | -11.1% | -4.7% | -7.5% | -18.0% | +28.7% | +40.1% | +98.4% | |
| P/B Ratio | 1.61 | 1.05 | 1.59 | 1.61 | 1.58 | 1.48 | 2.26 | 2.26 | 2.69 | 2.40 | 2.63 | 2.39 | 2.84 |
| — | -29.2% | -29.6% | -28.5% | -41.2% | -38.2% | -14.1% | -5.6% | -5.4% | -29.3% | +7.3% | +15.7% | +68.0% | |
| P/FCF | 4.78 | 3.06 | 5.13 | 3.31 | 8.06 | 6.34 | 11.84 | 6.00 | 11.52 | 10.53 | 7.27 | 9.50 | 14.86 |
| — | -51.8% | -56.7% | -44.9% | -30.0% | -39.8% | +63.0% | -36.9% | -22.5% | -26.7% | -1.7% | +110.8% | -33.8% | |
| EV / EBITDA | 7.34 | 3.14 | 7.63 | 7.24 | 7.43 | 8.59 | 8.78 | 9.93 | 11.98 | 9.96 | 10.47 | 9.71 | 12.03 |
| — | -63.4% | -13.2% | -27.0% | -38.0% | -13.8% | -16.1% | +2.2% | -0.4% | -16.4% | +31.7% | +34.6% | +60.3% | |
| EV / EBIT | 18.52 | — | 13.06 | 15.91 | 16.92 | 44.70 | 14.03 | 11.89 | 46.67 | 43.72 | 42.88 | 37.29 | 48.36 |
| — | — | -6.9% | +33.8% | -63.7% | +2.3% | -67.3% | -68.1% | -3.5% | +108.4% | +208.6% | -21.8% | +157.5% |
Quarterly margins and returns. Watch for margin compression across consecutive quarters.
Cars.com Inc.'s operating margin was 9.2% in Q1 2026, down 2.6 pp QoQ and up 5.6 pp YoY.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 83.0% | 82.4% | 98.0% | 68.3% | 82.9% | 82.7% | 82.4% | 82.4% | 113.7% | 83.4% | 82.8% | 82.2% | 81.9% |
| — | -0.4% | +19.0% | -17.2% | -27.0% | -0.8% | -0.4% | +0.3% | +38.7% | +1.5% | -0.1% | -0.4% | +0.0% | |
| Operating Margin | 8.3% | 9.2% | 11.8% | 9.3% | 8.5% | 3.6% | 11.0% | 6.4% | 5.3% | 7.1% | 8.3% | 8.2% | 7.3% |
| — | +155.8% | +7.8% | +45.1% | +60.3% | -49.0% | +31.8% | -22.4% | -27.5% | -5.7% | -29.4% | -32.1% | -22.4% | |
| Net Margin | 2.8% | 2.8% | 4.0% | 4.2% | 3.9% | -1.1% | 9.6% | 10.4% | 6.4% | 0.4% | 4.6% | 2.6% | 56.0% |
| — | +345.7% | -58.1% | -59.5% | -38.4% | -358.4% | +106.4% | +304.5% | -88.6% | -93.7% | -23.8% | +244.2% | +1544.0% |
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 4.1% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.4% | -0.4% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 2.3% | 0.2% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 21.8% |
| — | +365.4% | -54.4% | -57.4% | -38.1% | -349.5% | +99.4% | +300.6% | -89.3% | -94.6% | -36.5% | +222.1% | +1449.9% | |
| ROA | 1.8% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | -0.2% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 9.0% |
| — | +356.5% | -55.3% | -57.1% | -35.1% | -370.9% | +111.5% | +307.4% | -88.8% | -94.0% | -25.8% | +246.6% | +1624.4% | |
| ROIC | 5.0% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% |
| — | +267.9% | +14.6% | +52.5% | +63.3% | -48.5% | +31.3% | -23.2% | -28.7% | -10.0% | -30.9% | -30.5% | -18.2% |
Quarterly solvency trend — watch for debt spikes or covenant pressure.
The current ratio has improved 13.6% YoY to 1.87x, strengthening the short-term liquidity position.
| Metric | TTM | Q1 '26 | Q4 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q1 '25 | Q4 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q1 '24 | Q4 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q2 '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.99 | — | 0.99 | 0.94 | 0.94 | 0.93 | 0.89 | 0.93 | 0.95 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.93 | 0.94 |
| — | — | +11.4% | +2.1% | -0.2% | -5.5% | -9.4% | -0.2% | +0.1% | -16.6% | -20.1% | -29.6% | -27.2% | |
| Debt / EBITDA | 3.08 | — | 12.26 | 11.20 | 11.36 | 13.60 | 10.24 | 11.92 | 12.66 | 11.81 | 11.63 | 11.20 | 12.19 |
| — | — | +19.8% | -6.0% | -10.3% | +15.1% | -12.0% | +6.4% | +3.9% | -4.9% | +7.1% | -2.8% | -7.8% | |
| Current Ratio | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1.82 | 1.82 | 1.65 | 1.83 | 1.79 | 1.53 | 1.62 | 1.22 | 1.45 | 1.30 |
| — | +13.6% | +1.8% | +1.3% | +18.9% | +1.7% | +49.8% | +24.1% | +17.1% | +20.2% | -12.7% | -0.6% | -19.6% | |
| Quick Ratio | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1.82 | 1.82 | 1.65 | 1.83 | 1.79 | 1.53 | 1.62 | 1.22 | 1.34 | 1.22 |
| — | +13.6% | +1.8% | +1.3% | +18.9% | +1.7% | +49.8% | +33.7% | +25.1% | +30.5% | -12.7% | -1.0% | -24.8% | |
| Interest Coverage | 1.56 | 2.30 | 3.00 | 2.40 | 2.30 | 0.84 | 3.60 | 4.06 | 1.17 | 1.10 | 1.23 | 1.34 | 1.13 |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Includes 30+ ratios · 44 years · Updated daily
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Cars.com Inc.'s current P/E is 38.6x. The average P/E over the last 4 quarters is 25.8x. Quarterly P/E ratios can vary due to seasonal revenue patterns and one-time charges.
Cars.com Inc.'s current operating margin is 8.3%. Margins have been expanding over recent quarters. Quarterly margins are particularly useful for identifying trend inflections that annual data smooths over.
Quarterly financial ratios reveal short-term trend shifts — margin compression, debt spikes, or valuation re-ratings — that annual figures smooth over. They're essential for active investors tracking Cars.com Inc.'s business trajectory between earnings reports.