Stocktoria
Cars.com Inc. CARS
Cars.com Inc. (CARS) earns a Piotroski F-score of 6/9 (mixed financial health), with an Altman Z″ in the distress zone. It does not currently pay a dividend. FY2025 revenue was $723.2M at a 2.8% net margin.
Quality score trend · recomputed for each fiscal year
Each year's score is computed from that year's filing — a rising Piotroski F or Altman Z″ means improving financial health, a fall is worth a look.
Analyst price target
Wall Street analyst consensus — a sentiment gauge, not our scoring.
How it ranks in Services · percentile among 982 companies
Percentile vs other Services companies we cover — e.g. “stronger than 90%” means only 10% score higher on that measure.
Piotroski F breakdown · 6/9 tests passed
- Positive return on assets
- Positive operating cash flow
- Rising ROA
- Cash flow exceeds net income
- Lower long-term debt
- Rising current ratio
- No share dilution
- Rising gross margin
- Rising asset turnover
Altman Z″ components · distress zone
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Working capital / assets | 0.092 |
| Retained earnings / assets | -0.886 |
| EBIT / assets | 0.057 |
| Equity / liabilities | 0.801 |
Sector peers · similar-size Services companies compare side by side →
| Ticker | Company | Piotroski F | Altman Z″ | P / E | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CARS | Cars.com Inc. | 6/9 | -1.06 | 30 | +0.6% |
| EGHT | 8X8 INC /DE/ | 6/9 | -3.7 | 148.8 | +2.9% |
| UPWK | UPWORK, INC | 6/9 | 3.27 | 9 | +2.4% |
| GDRX | GoodRx Holdings, Inc. | 6/9 | -0.18 | 31.2 | +0.6% |
| RAMP | LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. | 6/9 | 9.25 | 15.7 | +9% |
| APLD | Applied Digital Corp. | — | -1.76 | — | +167.5% |
| NRDS | NERDWALLET, INC. | 7/9 | 6.63 | 12.3 | +21.7% |
About Cars.com Inc.
Cars.com Inc., an audience-driven technology company, provides solutions for the automotive industry in the United States. The company offers marketplace through Cars.com that allows OEMs and dealers to merchandise their inventory, as well as provides reputation management technology and digital financing tools. It also operates dealer websites to transform automotive retail processes; and trade and appraisal product, including AccuTrade, which uses demand data and diagnostic scans to determine the right trade-in offer for every VIN in minutes. In addition, the company offers media solution, such as Cars Social, allows dealers to target and serve native advertisements displaying real-time inventory to in-market car shoppers on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platform; VIN Performance Media, a machine-learning for media campaign, including audience targeting, real-time inventory, and ad placement across search, social, and display; In-Market Video, provides OEMs and dealers to pinpoint serious, ready-to-buy shoppers geographically; and proprietary in-market media solutions. The company serves local dealers, OEMs, dealer groups, and auto-adjacent companies. Cars.com Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
FAQ
Is CARS financially healthy?
Cars.com Inc.'s Piotroski F-score is 6/9 (8–9 is excellent, 0–3 weak), and its Altman Z″ distress score is in the distress zone.
Does CARS pay a dividend?
No, Cars.com Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.
How profitable is CARS?
In FY2025, Cars.com Inc. had a net margin of 2.8% and a return on equity of 4.2%.
Is CARS overvalued or undervalued?
Cars.com Inc. trades at about 37.8× trailing earnings — near its 10-year norm (10-year range 9.5×–103.9×, median 35.5×). Stocktoria reports the data, not buy/sell advice.
What is the analyst price target for CARS?
The average Wall-Street price target for Cars.com Inc. is $13.00, about 7.4% above the recent price, from 7 analysts.
Is CARS a good stock to buy?
Stocktoria doesn't give buy or sell advice, but here is the data on Cars.com Inc.: a Piotroski F-score of 6/9, an Altman Z″ in the distress zone, a P/E of about 30.0×. Weigh these quality and valuation signals against your own goals.
Computed from company filings · US · as of 2025-12-31. Facts plus Stocktoria's own computed scores — not investment advice.