BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CARS
Cars.com Inc.
CARS has the edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
CARS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
CARS's profitability and cash flow are currently strong, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
CARS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 5.8x | $12.85 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $9.23 | -28% |
| Current | 17x | $12.85 | — |
| Fair | 28x | $20.69 | +61% |
| Expensive | 127x | $95.15 | +640% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CARS has the edge over BABA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
BABA has the edge over CARS on the outlook, with more favorable revenue and profitability expectations.
CARS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect CARS's earnings to grow, but its profitability to weaken.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA has the edge over CARS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CARS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.20 | +194% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.75 | +63% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.57 | -8.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.43 | -37% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.32 | -56% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.46 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.62 | +63% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.68 | -57% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.72 | -59% |
CARS's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.75 over the past year, against $1.76 in late 2023.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA has the edge over CARS on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CARS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $181.9M | +0.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $179.9M | +0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $180.2M | +0.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $183.9M | +1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $181.6M | +1.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $178.7M | -0.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $179M | -0.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $180.4M | +0.5% |
CARS's revenue grew through 2023 and has held roughly level since: $182M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | +6.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | +7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 9.2% | +5.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.3% | +2.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.5% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6% | -3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +2.6 points |
CARS has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
CARS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $59M | +1.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.3M | -36% |
| Q1 2026 | $39.5M | +38% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.7M | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $58.3M | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.7M | -32% |
| Q1 2025 | $28.6M | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $29.1M | -35% |
CARS has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
CARS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.3% | -1.3M shares |
| 1 year | -12% | -7.7M shares |
| 3 years | -19% | -13.2M shares |
| 5 years | -22% | -15.6M shares |
| Available history | -17% | -11.7M shares |
CARS has the edge over BABA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $16.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $37M |
| Q1 2026 | $20.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $22.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $23.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $21.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $13.5M |
CARS spent $97M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 24% from the year before.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA has the edge over CARS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CARS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5x | Moderate |
CARS's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.5 years a year ago.
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
CARS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 60.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.0 | Neutral |
CARS's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 71 (neutral).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA is trading at 21x earnings, a 19% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
CARS PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | CARS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 18x | 4.9% below |
| PE % | 26 | 47 | 21 pts below |
CARS has the edge over BABA on valuation relative to its sector.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
CARS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $11.2 | 15% above |
| 20 week MA | $11.5 | 12% above |
| 50 week MA | $10.9 | 18% above |
| 100 week MA | $11.9 | 8.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $15.1 | 15% below |
CARS has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
CARS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $11.9 | $11.4 | -3.9% |
| 2021 | $11.4 | $16.3 | +42% |
| 2022 | $16.3 | $13.0 | -21% |
| 2023 | $13.0 | $19.0 | +46% |
| 2024 | $19.0 | $17.4 | -8.5% |
| 2025 | $17.4 | $12.6 | -28% |
| 2026 YTD | $12.6 | $12.9 | +2.2% |
CARS has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.