Cars.Com Stock Price, News & Analysis

Cars Commerce (NYSE: CARS) named Tobias Hartmann as Chief Executive Officer and director, effective January 15, 2026. Hartmann will succeed Alex Vetter, who will step down as CEO and board member on that date and serve as an advisor through March 31, 2026 to support the transition. Hartmann brings more than 25 years of experience across B2C and B2B technology, eCommerce and marketplaces, including CEO and chairman roles at Scout24 and senior leadership at HelloFresh and eBay Enterprise carve-outs.

The board described a comprehensive succession process and cited Hartmann’s track record in scaling digital businesses, while Vetter—company leader since 1998 and CEO since 2014—will exit the CEO and board roles to enable the leadership change.

Cars Commerce (NYSE: CARS) appointed Cormac Twomey as Chief Technology Officer, effective Dec. 10, 2025. Twomey will lead innovation, scale the technology platform, advance AI initiatives and support automotive retail and wholesale.

Twomey joins the executive team reporting to CEO Alex Vetter. He previously served as CTO at OpenTable, where he led a migration to a SaaS solutions model that supported revenue growth and scaled the platform to more than 60,000 SMBs. His background also includes CTO at Envoy and engineering leadership at eHarmony.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) released survey results on Nov 20, 2025 showing AI's growing role in car shopping. Key findings: 44% of consumers use AI-powered search tools, 97% say AI will influence purchase decisions, and Carson currently assists ~15% of web and mobile searches. Carson users return 2x more, save 3x more vehicles and generate 2x more leads. The survey fielded Nov 4–10, 2025 with 936 responses; a prior July study had 347 respondents. The release highlights consumer trust levels, time-savings, desire for personal AI assistants, and concerns about biased recommendations, while noting Cars.com’s high citation rate across third-party AI tools.

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) on November 6, 2025 launched Carson™, a multilingual AI search engine that converts conversational queries into targeted vehicle results to simplify filter-driven shopping.

Early performance metrics reported: Carson handles ~15% of web searches, users return 2x more, save 3x more vehicles, generate 2x more leads, and show a ~30% higher conversion from search results to vehicle detail pages. Carson surfaces Cars.com Award winners and understands practical, emotional, lifestyle and specific automotive queries. Planned enhancements include AI summaries, refinement prompts, filter suggestions and personalized comparisons.

Cars Commerce (NYSE: CARS) reported Q3 2025 revenue of $181.6M, a quarterly record and +1% year-over-year, driven by Dealer revenue +2% Y/Y and marketplace adoption. Dealer customers rose to 19,526 (+271 Y/Y). Adjusted net income was $30.4M (+10% Y/Y) and Adjusted EBITDA was $54.6M (30.1% margin). Reported net income was $7.7M versus $18.7M a year ago. Cash flow: nine-month free cash flow $94.5M; total debt $455.0M; total liquidity $350.1M; net leverage 1.9x. The company repurchased $63.9M of stock YTD and reaffirmed a $70–$90M 2025 buyback target. Outlook: low-single-digit H2 revenue growth and full-year Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of 29%–31%.

Cars Commerce (NYSE: CARS) released its Q3 2025 Industry Insights Report showing a steady U.S. auto market as pricing, production sourcing and incentives influenced activity.

Key points: average new-car price near $49,000 (+0.5% YoY); 2026 models represented one-third of dealer inventory by end of September; U.S.-built vehicles were 56% of dealer inventory in early October; EV wholesale values fell 10.4% QoQ and 17% YoY. The report cites incentives, tariff effects and earlier model-year rollouts as drivers.

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) said it will report third quarter 2025 financial results for the period ended September 30, 2025 on Thursday, November 6, 2025. The company will host a conference call and live webcast at 8:00 a.m. CT / 9:00 a.m. ET on the same day, hosted by CEO Alex Vetter and CFO Sonia Jain. Interested parties can listen live at investor.cars.com. A replay will be available shortly after the call via the Events section on the Investor Relations website.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) has partnered with Uber Advertising as the first automotive content partner for their new "JourneyTV Presents" in-ride entertainment experience. The partnership enables Cars.com to deliver curated car shopping content to Uber riders, featuring a unique "Send to Phone" functionality that links directly to Cars.com's platform.

The collaboration marks Cars.com's first video content syndication partnership, leveraging their editorial expertise to reach potential car buyers. According to their Q2 2025 Consumer Metrics Survey, over 70% of Cars.com visitors are undecided on both vehicle make/model and dealership choice. The platform serves approximately 20,000 local dealer customers with comprehensive automotive content, including reviews, expert advice, and specialized reports like the American-Made Index and Best of Awards.

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) released findings on the EV market ahead of the federal tax credit expiration on September 30, 2025. The study reveals that 47% of EV shoppers are accelerating their purchase timeline due to the upcoming deadline, with demand on Cars.com increasing 33% YoY for new EVs and 22% YoY for used EVs.

The company announced its Top EV Picks for 2026, including the Chevrolet Equinox EV (Best Value), Hyundai Ioniq 5 (Best 2-Row SUV), Kia EV9 (Best 3-Row SUV), Hyundai Ioniq 6 (Best Electric Car), Lucid Air (Best Luxury EV), and Chevrolet Silverado EV (Best Pickup Truck).

Market data shows new EV inventory grew 1.4% YoY with prices up 4.1% YoY. Used EV inventory surged 38% YoY with faster sales, averaging 46 days on lot versus 66 days last year. Tesla's used prices declined 16.2% YoY.