Cars.com (CARS) EBITDA Margin (2016 - 2026)
Cars.com (CARS) posted EBITDA Margin of 25.13% for Q2 2026, up 2.69 percentage points from 22.45% a year earlier and up 6.63 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Cars.com (CARS) EBITDA Margin (2016 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For the trailing twelve months through Jun 30, 2026, EBITDA Margin at Cars.com was 21.64%, down 0.24 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 21.03%, down 1.31 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual EBITDA Margin has declined for three consecutive years, though with a five-year change of +162.41 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In prior years, Cars.com's EBITDA Margin was 22.34% in FY2024 (-0.16 pp), 22.51% in FY2023 (-2.03 pp), 24.54% in FY2022 (+0.44 pp) and 24.09% in FY2021 (+165.47 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure stands as the highest quarterly EBITDA Margin since Q4 2022.
- On a year-over-year basis, EBITDA Margin increased in four of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -0.31 percentage points.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for EBITDA Margin in the past five years was Q4 2022, with a gain of 7.26 percentage points; the weakest was Q4 2021, with a drop of 8.60 percentage points.
- According to Business Quant data, EBITDA Margin for the three prior quarters was 18.51% (Q1 2026), 20.77% (Q4 2025) and 22.18% (Q3 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | EBITDA Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alphabet | 3,522.13 Bn | 3,257.03 Bn | 76.16 Bn | 38.37% |
| 2 | Meta Platforms | 1,639.39 Bn | 1,303.91 Bn | 51.23 Bn | 31.18% |
| 3 | Netflix | 259.77 Bn | 221.06 Bn | 6.80 Bn | 68.36% |
| 4 | Alibaba Group Holding | 238.46 Bn | 60.53 Bn | 15.16 Bn | - |
| 5 | Shopify | 188.67 Bn | 173.82 Bn | 1.78 Bn | 15.37% |
| 6 | Uber Technologies | 142.87 Bn | 114.08 Bn | 6.42 Bn | 11.28% |
| 7 | AppLovin | 131.04 Bn | 119.57 Bn | 1.94 Bn | 79.79% |
| 8 | Spotify Technology | 124.73 Bn | 81.65 Bn | 1.89 Bn | 14.77% |
| 9 | Booking Holdings | 119.44 Bn | 53.19 Bn | - | 40.49% |
| 10 | Cars.com | 703.28 Mn | 484.61 Mn | 150.14 Mn | 25.14% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 25.14% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 25.40% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 18.77% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 21.04% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 22.44% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 22.71% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 18.98% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 24.91% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 21.99% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 21.04% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 22.67% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 23.55% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 23.37% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 22.46% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 22.36% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 26.34% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 26.64% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 24.07% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 22.95% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 19.15% |
API Access
Cars.com EBITDA Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=ebitda-margin&ticker=CARS&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "ebitda-margin", "ticker": "CARS", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=ebitda-margin&ticker=CARS&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();