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Cars.com Inc. Quality Score

CARS

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Quality62

Business quality is the primary weakness (avg 48/100). Valuation is the relative bright spot.

Broad-market heuristics · Not a buy/sell signal

Valuation and growth

Earnings Multiple
80/100
22.4x

20–25x range, moderate premium

Cash Flow Multiple
100/100
4.6x

Under 20x cash flow, well covered

Revenue Growth
50/100
2.6%

2–5% CAGR, growing but slowly

Cash Flow Growth
50/100
4.3%

2–5% CAGR, growing but slowly

Business Quality & Capital Allocation

Share Dilution
100/100
-18.7%

Shrinking >2%, active buybacks

Margin Trend
90/100
+1.3pp

Expanded 1–3pp, steady progress

Capital Structure
0/100
$414M

Net debt/FCF of 2.8x, high leverage

2022
$32.0M
$501M
2023
$39.0M
$511M
2024
$51.0M
$476M
2025
$56.0M
$468M
TTM
$33.0M
$447M
CashDebt
Return on Capital
0/100
6.9%

Below 8%, may not cover cost of capital

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Cars.com (CARS) quality: score, margins and returns

Cars.com (CARS) scores 62/100 on Intrinsiqq's quality score (a solid business), a weighted blend of 8 metrics each scored 0 to 100, on 11.4% operating margins and 6.9% ROIC. Every metric is computed from SEC filings; this is analysis, not investment advice.

Frequently asked

Is Cars.com (CARS) a high-quality business?+

Cars.com scores 62 out of 100 on Intrinsiqq's quality score, a weighted blend of 8 metrics each scored 0 to 100, which rates it a solid business on these measures. Recent figures include a 11.4% operating margin and a 6.9% return on invested capital. Quality and price are separate questions: even a great business can be a poor investment if you overpay, so read this score alongside the valuation. The metric-by-metric breakdown is on this scorecard.

What does Cars.com's quality score measure?+

Intrinsiqq's quality score weighs revenue and free-cash-flow growth, operating margins, return on invested capital, change in share count, and balance-sheet strength, each computed from CARS's SEC filings rather than opinion or sentiment. A higher score means a more durable, capital-efficient business; it is not a buy or sell signal. Open each metric on this page to see exactly where Cars.com scores well and where it falls behind.

What is Cars.com's return on invested capital (ROIC)?+

Cars.com earns about 6.9% on its invested capital, which is modest. ROIC measures how much profit a company generates per dollar put to work; sustained ROIC above its cost of capital is one of the clearest signs of a real competitive moat. Compare it to CARS's margins and growth on this scorecard to judge durability.

How profitable is Cars.com?+

Cars.com runs an operating margin of about 11.4% and a net margin of about 4.7%. Revenue has grown at roughly 5.7% a year recently. High, stable margins usually point to pricing power and operating discipline. Margins are most telling next to growth and returns on capital, all of which feed this quality score. This is analysis from SEC filings, not investment advice.

How the market compares: US profitability statistics

SourceQuality score computed from the 10-Q filed 3 Aug 2026, covering the period ending 30 Jun 2026, as reported to the SEC. Data last refreshed 8 Aug 2026. How this is calculated.

Fiscal year ends Dec. Sector medians are approximate S&P 500 benchmarks and update periodically. Checks use broad-market heuristics, so sector norms may differ, and the valuation checks are more cyclical than the quality checks.

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Held by ETFs

CARS is in 34 US ETFs. The largest of them, with CARS's weight in each:

Spot a number that looks wrong? Check it in CARS's SEC filings or

Download this analysis as a PDF (Pro)

Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings and third-party price providers. Scores, valuations, and metrics are algorithmic estimates. This is not investment advice. See our Terms and Methodology.

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