Cars.com Inc. (CARS) Valuation

Valuation

Model-based estimates, not advice. The DCF is the discounted-cash-flow value per share; compare it with the price, not as a target.

DCF fair value

+164.6%

$30.84

vs $11.66 price

Levered DCF

$18.21

After debt service

Piotroski score

9 / 9

Strong

Altman Z-score

0.48

Distress zone

Rating

Overall 3 / 5

Ratios by fiscal year

Margins and yields are shares of revenue, equity or price; multiples are ×.

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	FY2023	FY2022	FY2021	FY2020	FY2019	FY2018
P/E	38.13×	23.74×	10.72×	55.08×	107.27×	-0.93×	-1.84×	39.09×
P/B	1.56×	2.24×	2.57×	2.44×	2.88×	2.23×	0.72×	0.93×
P/S	1.02×	1.59×	1.84×	1.44×	1.84×	1.39×	1.35×	2.28×
EV / EBITDA	6.13×	7.69×	11.29×	9.06×	10.49×	-1.62×	-4.42×	11.56×
Gross margin	83.0%	82.7%	82.3%	82.4%	81.7%	81.5%	83.6%	86.0%
Operating margin	8.3%	7.4%	7.9%	10.1%	7.8%	-162.1%	-73.5%	12.7%
Net margin	2.8%	6.7%	17.2%	2.6%	1.7%	-149.2%	-73.4%	5.9%
Current ratio	1.87×	1.83×	1.22×	1.4×	1.56×	1.97×	1.24×	1.39×
Debt / equity	0.99×	0.89×	0.98×	1.23×	1.17×	1.72×	0.56×	0.43×
Interest coverage	0.99×	1.66×	1.67×	1.87×	1.25×	-23.44×	-14.49×	3.03×
Dividend yield	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Payout ratio	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Key metrics by fiscal year

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	FY2023	FY2022	FY2021	FY2020	FY2019	FY2018
Return on equity	4.2%	9.4%	24.1%	4.5%	2.7%	-240.2%	-39.0%	2.4%
Return on invested capital	3.7%	4.2%	5.2%	5.4%	5.2%	-78.0%	-21.3%	2.3%
Return on assets	1.9%	4.3%	10.1%	1.7%	1.1%	-76.0%	-22.0%	1.5%
Free cash flow yield	20.0%	13.1%	9.1%	11.6%	10.4%	16.0%	9.8%	9.9%
Earnings yield	2.7%	4.2%	9.4%	1.8%	0.9%	-107.5%	-54.4%	2.6%
Enterprise value	$1.1B	$1.5B	$1.7B	$1.4B	$1.6B	$1.3B	$1.4B	$2.2B
Net debt / EBITDA	2.2×	2.01×	2.93×	2.89×	2.85×	-0.66×	-1.92×	3.54×
Cash conversion cycle (days)	-16	-30	-0	2	9	3	16	50