Cars.com Inc. (CARS) Return on Capital Employed (2017 - 2026)

Cars.com has disclosed Return on Capital Employed across 10 years of filings, most recently posting 1.85% for Q1 2026.

• In Q1 2026, Return on Capital Employed rose 117.0% year-over-year to 1.85%; the TTM figure through Mar 2026 stood at 1.85% (up 117.0% YoY), while the FY2025 annual figure was 0.74%, down 53.0% from the prior year.
• Return on Capital Employed improved to 1.85% in Q1 2026, from 0.76% in the prior quarter.
• Over the last five years, Return on Capital Employed for CARS reached as high as 5.45% in Q4 2023 and fell as low as 0.24% in Q3 2023.
• The 5-year median for Return on Capital Employed is 1.85% (2026), against an average of 2.58%.
• Annual changes were most pronounced in 2023 — Return on Capital Employed tumbled 556 bps — and 2024, when it jumped 506 bps.
• A 5-year view of Return on Capital Employed shows it stood at 0.51% in 2022, then soared by 971 bps to 5.45% in 2023, then slumped by 76 bps to 1.3% in 2024, then tumbled by 42 bps to 0.76% in 2025, then jumped by 144 bps to 1.85% in 2026.
• According to Business Quant data, Return on Capital Employed over the past three periods registered 1.85%, 0.76%, and 1.87% for Q1 2026, Q4 2025, and Q3 2025 respectively.