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Cars.com (CARS) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $182 million, up 0.2% on the year

Cars.com Inc. (CARS) reported revenue of $182 million for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 0.2% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $16 million, up 113.4% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $0.30. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 5 November 2026.

Revenue
$182 million
+0.2% on the year · +1.1% on the quarter
Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026
Operating margin
15.9%
9.3% a year earlier
Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026
Net income
$16 million
+113.4% on the year · +14.6% on the quarter
Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026
Diluted EPS
$0.30
+150.0% on the year · +20.0% on the quarter
Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

What management said

Guidance figures: 3 kept.

  • Revenue was up slightly: Revenue was $181.9 million, up slightly from $181.6 million a year earlier.
  • Net income more than doubled: Net income was $16.3 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, against $7.7 million, or $0.12, a year earlier.
  • Marketplace revenue up 5%: Marketplace revenue was up 5% year-over-year, driven by customer growth and higher-tier subscription uptake. Premium+ reached 12% adoption for the quarter.
Read the earnings call summary

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ millionQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025On the quarterOn the yearLast 8 quarters
Revenue182180182+1.1%+0.2%
Operating income28.927.916.8+3.6%+71.9%
Operating margin15.9%15.5%9.3%
Pre-tax income21.519.510.7+9.9%+100.4%
Income tax5.15.33.0-2.9%+68.0%
Effective tax rate23.8%27.0%28.4%
Net income16.314.37.7+14.6%+113.4%
Net margin9.0%7.9%4.2%
Diluted EPS$0.30$0.25$0.12+20.0%+150.0%
$ million except per share.
Read moreFree cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ millionQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025On the quarterOn the yearLast 8 quarters
Operating cash flow59.015.858.8+273.4%+0.4%
Capital expenditure0.00.50.6-92.1%-92.3%
Free cash flow59.015.358.3+286.5%+1.2%
Free cash flow margin32.4%8.5%32.1%
Cash from investing-5.2-5.9-6.2
Cash from financing-22.3-41.3-25.2
Depreciation and amortisation16.417.323.5-5.7%-30.3%
Share-based compensation5.85.97.4-2.3%-22.2%
Buybacks16.937.019.7-54.4%-14.4%
Diluted shares, weighted55m57m63m-2.3%-12.3%
Shares outstanding at period end53m54m60m-2.5%-12.9%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ millionQ3 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2025On the quarterOn the yearLast 8 quarters
Shareholders' equity449444478+1.1%-6.1%
Debt442447451-1.0%-1.9%
Other liabilities134122143+10.0%-6.1%
Total liabilities and equity1,0251,0121,071+1.2%-4.3%
Fixed assets33.434.235.3-2.1%-5.3%
Goodwill166166167-0.1%-0.6%
Intangible assets494505537-2.1%-7.9%
Cash and equivalents64.633.355.1+93.9%+17.2%
Receivables135143129-5.5%+5.0%
Other assets132131148+0.4%-11.4%
Total assets1,0251,0121,071+1.2%-4.3%

Questions

What was Cars.com's revenue in Q3 FY2026?

Cars.com (CARS) reported revenue of $182 million for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 0.2% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Cars.com earn in Q3 FY2026?

Net income for Q3 FY2026 was $16 million, up 113.4% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $0.30.

When did Cars.com report Q3 FY2026 results?

Cars.com filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 with the SEC on 5 November 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

Q4 FY2021 *Q1 FY2022 †Q2 FY2022Q3 FY2022Q4 FY2022 *Q1 FY2023Q2 FY2023Q3 FY2023Q4 FY2023 *Q1 FY2024Q2 FY2024Q3 FY2024Q4 FY2024 *Q1 FY2025Q2 FY2025Q3 FY2025Q4 FY2025 *Q1 FY2026Q2 FY2026Q3 FY2026
Revenue158158163165168167168174180180179180180179179182184180180182
Operating income4.110.915.419.919.812.512.314.314.912.79.511.519.86.515.216.821.716.627.928.9
Operating margin3%7%9%12%12%7%7%8%8%7%5%6%11%4%9%9%12%9%15%16%
Pre-tax income-5.41.86.3-2.016.512.51.12.61.90.816.424.520.1-1.210.010.714.98.719.521.5
Tax raten/a-139%12%n/a38%8%-8856%-70%-341%4%31%24%14%n/a30%28%50%43%27%24%
Net income-6.04.35.5-2.910.311.594.14.58.30.811.418.717.3-2.07.07.77.45.014.316.3
Net margin-4%3%3%-2%6%7%56%3%5%0%6%10%10%-1%4%4%4%3%8%9%
Diluted EPS-$0.08$0.06$0.08-$0.04$0.15$0.17$1.37$0.07$0.12$0.01$0.17$0.28$0.26-$0.03$0.11$0.12$0.12$0.08$0.25$0.30
Operating cash flow21.830.411.949.037.228.128.035.445.133.535.353.830.029.526.258.837.139.815.859.0
Capital expenditure1.30.54.55.85.30.20.30.20.50.70.40.91.00.82.50.60.40.30.50.0
Free cash flow20.529.97.443.231.927.927.735.244.632.834.952.829.128.623.758.336.739.515.359.0
Buybacks0.05.018.116.99.07.110.16.28.09.15.321.313.521.523.119.722.620.537.016.9
Shares outstanding69m70m68m67m69m67m66m66m66m66m66m65m64m64m62m60m59m57m54m53m
Filing10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q10-K10-Q10-Q10-Q
Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.
Read more* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. A quarter marked † is shown as the company last restated it in a later filing, so it compares with the quarters around it on one basis; rest on a figure for the one first filed. EPS is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 30 September 2026, filed 5 November 2026: the filing.