If you’ve been watching the cars com stock price lately, you know it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Honestly, it’s the kind of stock that makes you want to double-check your brokerage app twice a day. One minute it’s pushing toward $13, and the next, it’s dipping back into the $11 range. It’s volatile. But here’s the thing: most people just look at the ticker (CARS) and see a "used car website." That’s a mistake.
As of mid-January 2026, the stock is sitting around $12.41. That is a far cry from its 52-week high of $19.00.
But don't let that price tag fool you into thinking the company is shrinking. The reality is much more nuanced. Just a few days ago, on January 15, 2026, the company officially handed the keys to a new leader. Tobias Hartmann took over as CEO, succeeding Alex Vetter. When a long-time founder-type CEO steps down, Wall Street usually gets the jitters. That’s exactly what we’re seeing.
The weird disconnect in cars com stock price
Why is the price hovering where it is? It’s basically a tug-of-war between record revenues and "meh" net income.
In the last major earnings report (Q3 2025), the company actually hit a record $182 million in revenue. You’d think the stock would moon, right? Nope. Net income actually dropped about 59%. Before you panic, it wasn't because they were losing money on operations. It was mostly due to "non-cash" accounting stuff—specifically, changes in the fair value of payments related to previous acquisitions like D2C Media.
Investors hate messy math. They like clean, upward lines.
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What’s actually driving the business?
The "Cars Commerce" platform is shifting. It isn't just a place to find a 2018 Camry anymore. They’ve gone all-in on being a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for dealers.
- Dealer Count: They’ve got over 19,500 dealers on the platform now. That’s a three-year high.
- The AI Factor: They launched an AI engine called Carson. Sounds a bit cheesy, sure, but it doubled the views on vehicle listings. In a world where attention is the only currency, that matters.
- ARPD: That stands for Average Revenue Per Dealer. It’s the "holy grail" metric here. It’s currently around $2,460. If they can nudge that up by selling more software tools (like AccuTrade), the stock price has a massive floor.
Is the current valuation a steal or a trap?
Wall Street analysts are currently giving CARS a "Moderate Buy" rating. The average price target? Somewhere around $17.90. If you do the math, that’s almost a 50% upside from the current cars com stock price.
But let's be real. There are risks.
The biggest headache for Cars.com isn't other websites; it's the OEMs (the big car manufacturers like Ford or GM). When those big brands pull back their national advertising spend—which they did recently—it hurts. Last year, two major OEMs cut spending, which caused a 5% dip in that specific revenue stream.
Also, look at the competition. You’ve got the giants like CarGurus and Autotrader (Cox Automotive) breathing down their necks. CarGurus often has more traffic, but Cars.com argues their "leads" are higher quality. It’s a classic quantity vs. quality debate.
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The technical side of the trade
If you’re a chart reader, the stock is testing some serious support levels.
- Support at $11.00: If it breaks below this, things could get ugly.
- Resistance at $12.57: This is the ceiling it keeps hitting.
- Volatility (Beta): The stock has a Beta of 1.45. Basically, if the S&P 500 moves 1%, CARS moves 1.45%. It’s a high-beta play, so don't put your rent money in here.
The Hartmann era begins
Tobias Hartmann isn't a car guy. He’s a digital scaling guy. He came from Scout24 and has a history of taking B2B platforms and making them way more efficient.
His first 90 days are going to be crucial for the cars com stock price. If he can prove that the "Marketplace Repackaging" strategy is working—basically getting dealers to pay for premium tiers—the stock could easily reclaim that $15 mark by spring.
The company also reaffirmed their 2025/2026 outlook of low-single-digit revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 29% and 31%. That’s a healthy margin. It shows they aren't just burning cash to stay alive; they are actually quite profitable on an "adjusted" basis.
The share buyback signal
One thing that doesn't get enough attention is the share buybacks. They’ve been buying back their own stock like crazy—about $64 million worth in the first nine months of last year.
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When a company buys its own stock, it’s usually because they think the market is being stupid and the price is too low. Or, they have so much cash they don't know what else to do with it. Either way, it reduces the supply of shares, which is generally good for the price in the long run.
Final verdict on the outlook
The cars com stock price is currently caught in a transition phase. It’s moving from a legacy listing site to a high-margin tech platform.
If you believe that dealers will continue to move their entire "back office" to digital tools, then the current price looks like a discount. If you think the used car market is going to crater because of high interest rates (currently around 9.6% for used loans), then you might want to wait.
Actionable insights for your portfolio:
- Watch the February 26 earnings call: This is the big one. It’s the first time we’ll hear the new CEO’s specific vision.
- Monitor the $11.00 floor: If it holds, it's a strong technical signal.
- Focus on ARPD: Don't just look at the stock price; look at how much money they are squeezing out of each dealer. If that number goes up, the stock follows.
- Check OEM spending: Keep an eye on Detroit. If Ford and GM start spending on national ads again, CARS gets an immediate revenue boost.
The bottom line? CARS is a "show me" stock. The fundamentals are there, but the market wants to see the new CEO deliver a clean quarter without the accounting noise. Once that happens, the gap between the $12 price and the $17 target might start closing fast.