Filing Flows › Cars.com (CARS) › How it makes money
How Cars.com (CARS) makes money
Cars.com (CARS) made $182M of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +0.2% from a year earlier. Of every dollar of revenue, 16¢ was left as operating profit, 9¢ was left as net earnings.
Drawing the Sankey…
Where each dollar of revenue goes
| Line | Q3 2026 | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $182M | 100.0% |
| Operating profit | $28.9M | 15.9% |
| Income tax | $5.1M | 2.8% |
| Net earnings | $16.3M | 9.0% |
| Operating cash flow | $59.0M | 32.5% |
| Free cash flow | $53.8M | 29.6% |
Revenue, quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $182M | +0.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $180M | +0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $180M | +0.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $184M | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $182M | +1% |
| Q2 2025 | $179M | -0.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $179M | -0.6% |
From Cars.com's 10-Q filed Nov 5, 2026 (on EDGAR).
Questions
How does Cars.com make money?
Cars.com (CARS) made $182M of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +0.2% from a year earlier. Of every dollar of revenue, 16¢ was left as operating profit, 9¢ was left as net earnings.
What is Cars.com's profit margin?
Net earnings were $16.3M, 9.0% of revenue, in the third quarter 2026; the operating margin was 15.9%.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.