Cars.com Inc. · NYSE:CARS
Cars.com — Q3 2025 Earnings Presentation
22 slides from Cars.com's earnings presentation, Nov 6, 2025
Slide 1: Third Quarter 2025 Earnings
Third Quarter 2025 Earnings November 6, 2025
Slide 2: Forward-looking Statements
Forward-looking Statements This presentation contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements often use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “project,” “ant
Slide 3: Definitions: Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Definitions: Non-GAAP Financial Measures This presentation discusses Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted net income, Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Operating Expenses. These financial measures are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States
Slide 4: Delivered record revenue and strong Adjusted EBITDA improvement
Delivered record revenue and strong Adjusted EBITDA improvement Revenue ($MM) Adj. EBITDA ($MM) Share Repurchases ($MM) & Dealer Count & Margin (% Revenue) 30.1% 19,526 28.5% 19,255 $55 $64 $182 $51 $180 $36 Q3’24 Q3’25 Q3’24 Q3’25 YTD 2024 YTD 2025 Revenue +1% YoY Adj. EBITDA +7% YoY Repurchased 5.
Slide 5: Substantial progress across multiple growth drivers
Substantial progress across multiple growth drivers Grow Grow Dealer Unlock the Create Platform Consumers Customers Cross-Sell Advantages 25.5MM 19,526 Dealer ARPD of $2,460, 30.1% Adjusted Average Monthly Customers, up up +1% QoQ EBITDA Margin Unique Visitors +114 QoQ Highest customer count Record
Slide 6: Strong, scaled in-market consumer audience
Strong, scaled in-market consumer audience Q3 Total Traffic (MM) & Average Monthly Unique Visitors (MM) ● Total traffic (visits) +1% YoY in Q3, and traffic of 156.2 488MM visits year-to-date set a new record 25.5 ● Average Monthly Unique Visitors up +4% YoY ● Mobile app organic traffic +15% YoY ● #1 most
Slide 7: Product innovation driving marketplace engagement
Product innovation driving marketplace engagement Carson Shopper Alerts ™ “Cars.com Shopper Alerts have become a key part of our sales workflow. Our AI initiates the first contact, and then our BDC uses the Alerts to focus on the most engaged shoppers, streamline follow-up “ and improve our close rate
Slide 8: Growing adoption of appraisal and wholesale technology
Growing adoption of appraisal and wholesale technology AccuTrade surpasses 1M quarterly DealerClub active dealers vehicle appraisals, up +56% YoY up almost 40% QoQ AccuTrade Connected Subscriptions & Appraisals ~1,150 8
Slide 9: Dealer websites continue steady growth trajectory
Dealer websites continue steady growth trajectory Website Customers ~7,900 ● Websites added approximately 70 subscribers QoQ during Q3 ● Completed three additional repackaging agreements during Q3, bolstering digital experience offerings for customers Website customer data includes D2C Media, effectiv
Slide 10: Dealer growth acceleration continues in Q3
Dealer growth acceleration continues in Q3 Dealer Customers Q3 Average Revenue Per Dealer 19,526 $2,460 Note: The decline of the digital dealer industry negatively impacted our Dealer Customer count by over 650 cancellations (which started in Q2’22). There are effectively no digital dealers in our De
Slide 11: Record revenue achieved in Q3
Record revenue achieved in Q3 Quarterly Revenue ($MM) ● Record Q3 revenue of $181.6MM grew +1% YoY ● Dealer revenue was up +2% YoY, driven by website and appraisal products, and strong Marketplace repackaging and customer growth ● OEM & National revenue was down 5% YoY, reflecting lower spending by s
Slide 12: Disciplined investment in growth
Disciplined investment in growth Quarterly Adjusted Operating Expense excl. D&A ($MM) ● Q3 Adjusted operating expenses, inclusive of D&A, were down 4% YoY ● Q3 Operating expenses were down 2% YoY, reflecting reductions in headcount and lease expenses, that were partially offset by DealerClub-related o
Slide 13: Delivered strong Adjusted EBITDA margin
Delivered strong Adjusted EBITDA margin Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA ($MM) & Margin (% Revenue) ● Adjusted EBITDA of $55 million was up +7% YoY, demonstrating strong revenue flowthrough ● Adjusted EBITDA margin of 30.1% was up 160+ bps YoY and the highest quarterly margin year-to-date 13
Slide 14: Quarterly Key Operating Metrics
Quarterly Key Operating Metrics Q3 2025 Q3 2024 AVERAGE MONTHLY UNIQUE 25.5 MM 24.5 MM VISITORS1 TRAFFIC (VISITS)1 156.2 MM 154.2 MM DEALER CUSTOMERS2 19,526 19,255 MONTHLY ARPD3 $2,460 $2,478 1 UVs and Traffic are measured via RudderStack. These metrics do not include traffic to Dealer Inspire, D2C Med
Slide 15: Robust cash flow and consistent capital return
Robust cash flow and consistent capital return Free Cash Flow Trend ($MM) Share Repurchase ($MM) Paid down $5MM of revolver in Q3 Total net leverage ratio of 1.9x, below target net leverage range of 2.0x to 2.5x 15
Slide 16: Outlook
Outlook 2H 2025 OUTLOOK ● Revenue: Low-single digit YoY growth FULL YEAR 2025 OUTLOOK ● Adjusted EBITDA margin: 29% to 31% ● Share repurchase target: $70 to $90 million 16
Slide 17: Q&A
Q&A 17
Slide 18: Appendix
Appendix 18
Slide 19: Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Non-GAAP Reconciliations (unaudited and in thousands) 19
Slide 20: Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Non-GAAP Reconciliations (unaudited and in thousands) 20
Slide 21: Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Non-GAAP Reconciliations (unaudited and in thousands) 21
Slide 22: Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Non-GAAP Reconciliations (unaudited and in thousands) 22