CARS
Cars.com Inc.
CARS has the edge over F overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
F
Ford Motor Company
F's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
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.
F Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
F's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
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's PE is in its cheap range at 17x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 5.8x next year's earnings.
F PE Valuation
F has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CARS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect CARS's earnings to grow, but its profitability to weaken.
F Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
F has the edge over CARS on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
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 has the edge over F on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
F Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.78 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.97 | -270% |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.87 | -340% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.55 | -224% |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.06 | -241% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.16 | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.78 | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.25 | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.46 | +35% |
F has swung to a loss: it lost $1.97 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
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 F on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
F Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $49.5B | -2% |
| Q2 2026 | $48.3B | -3.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $43.3B | +6.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $45.9B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $50.5B | +9.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $50.2B | +5% |
| Q1 2025 | $40.7B | -5% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.2B | +4.9% |
F's revenue grew through 2023 and has held roughly level since: $49.5B last quarter, down 2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5.4% | +4.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | -25% | -28 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.1% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 1% | -2.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5% | +3.1 points |
F's operating margin was 2.9% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
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's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $151M over the past year, up 7.8% from the year before.
F Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.1B | -40% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | -54% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.1B | -157% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +108% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3B | +50% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2B | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +$2.6B |
| Q4 2024 | $530M | +169% |
F has the edge over CARS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 F 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.
F Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.2% | +89M shares |
| 1 year | +0.7% | +28M shares |
| 3 years | +0.6% | +26M shares |
| 5 years | +1% | +40M shares |
| Available history | +1.8% | +72M shares |
F has 4.1B diluted shares, up 0.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $311M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $150M |
F spent $311M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 107% from the year before.
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.
F Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -3.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
F has the edge over CARS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
F Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.6 | Oversold |
F's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
CARS PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | CARS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 18x | 4.9% below |
| PE % | 26 | 47 | 21 pts below |
CARS is trading at 17x earnings, in line with the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x.
F PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | F | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 18x | — |
F has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 F on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
F Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.2 | 2.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $13.3 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $13.4 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $12.1 | 2% below |
| 200 week MA | $12.1 | 1.4% below |
F is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 1.4% below its 200-week average.
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 F on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
F Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.36 | $8.86 | -5.3% |
| 2021 | $8.86 | $20.3 | +129% |
| 2022 | $20.3 | $11.4 | -44% |
| 2023 | $11.4 | $12.2 | +7.3% |
| 2024 | $12.2 | $10.0 | -18% |
| 2025 | $10.0 | $13.3 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $13.3 | $11.9 | -11% |
F's yearly returns have swung widely, from +129% in 2021 to −44% in 2022. It's down 11% so far in 2026.